Pin Quest Ontario

Known for its many lakeside cottages, Renfrew County is home to over 900 lakes in addition to white-water rapids along rivers including the Ottawa River.

Admaston-Bromley was formed from the amalgamation of two townships of the same names. Admaston Township was first established in 1843 and held council meetings out of a local school until the 1850s when a municipal building was constructed. Continuing the tradition of multiple uses, the new municipal hall served as a place to store records, a polling booth, and a “Show Fair” with space for baking, sewing, crop, and livestock exhibitions. Thankfully the livestock show was held across the road and not inside the building. 

Arnprior played a very specific role in flight training during WWII. Rather than training pilots, the air base trained flight instructors who would go on to teach pilots across the commonwealth. No longer operated by the military, the Arnprior airport still functions including hosting an aerodrome for floatplanes, and a skydiving company. 

The administrative centre of Bonnechere Valley is Eganville. In 1911, two teenagers were smoking in an Eganville shed when some of the ashes caused a fire. The fire would grow so fierce that buildings along both sides of the Bonnechere River were destroyed including schools, churches, businesses, and 75 homes. A municipal building was rebuilt a year later and stands to this day as the Bonnechere Museum.

Deep River was originally built by the Canadian government as part of the Manhattan Project to serve as a home for staff at Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories. The name of the town comes from a 24 mile straight stretch of the Ottawa River that was called “la riviere creuse” or “deep river” by voyageurs because it was over 200 feet deep in some parts. 

Early life in Greater Madawaska revolved around the logging industry. Much of the transportation from the logging camps to lumber mills was done by floating logs down the river. However, the usual poles and pikes used by log drivers weren’t always enough to keep the logs moving through the whitewater rapids on the river and it was common to hear the sound of dynamite clearing a logjam!

While many municipalities in Ontario with multiple township names date to municipal amalgamations in the 1990s, The United Townships of Head, Clara, and Maria have them all beat by over 100 years. The three eponymous townships merged in 1878 and have been going strong ever since.

Killaloe-Hagarty-Richards hosts an annual “Duck Race” where they release hundreds of rubber ducks into Brennan’s Creek and race over a dam to the finish line. Participants can cheer on their favourite duck as they compete to see who is the fastest duck in the land!

The Laurentian Valley Four Seasons Trail is actually just a winter attraction. It’s a 1.5 km skating trail on natural ice, through the woods. Even better, during night skates, the trail is lit up by string lights for a festive experience. For those who don’t skate, a sister trail runs along side for snowshoeing.

Pembroke was founded by Peter White, a retired naval officer who served in the War of 1812. This connection to naval service is perhaps why the community was named Pembroke in honour of the Sidney Herbert, First Admiralty Secretary from 1841 to 1845, who was the son of George Herbert, the 11th Earl of Pembroke.

The earliest known settlement in the Petawawa region was an Algonquin community. The town’s name derives from an Algonquin word meaning “where one hears the sound of the river”. The river and trails around it would become key fur trading routes for European settlers, and the Hudson Bay Company would designate the area as a “strategic location”, eventually building a fort that would become a hub for a village to expand.

The Town of Renfrew is home to one of only three "swinging bridges" in Canada.

Originally built from wire in 1885 across the Bonne here river, the bridge was updated in 1983 and 2015 with sturdier cables and remains a busy local attraction.

Just off of Highway 17 in Whitewater Region is a monument commemorating the site that an astrolabe was found in the community. What made this particular item notable? It bears the date 1613 and is believed to have belonged to Samuel de Champlain while he was exploring the region. Who knows - maybe some day you will lose an object that will eventually become a historic monument!

A pin produced for Canada's 150th anniversary of confederation in 2017.