History of Renfrew

Named after the town of Renfrew in Scotland. Renfrew was settled largely in part to logging in the area in the early 1800s, and used the river in order to drive the lumber to locations such as Ottawa. This heritage was once celebrated every July with the Lumber Baron Festival until recent years

Geography

Renfrew and the surrounding Township of Horton is at the intersection of the Bonnechere River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley. Renfrew is at the intersection of provincial Highway 17, Highway 60, and Highway 132. Renfrew is also a stop on the Greyhound Bus route between Ottawa and North Bay.

Economy

Much of Renfrew's current prosperity comes from being the commercial centre for over 30,000 residents of the surrounding small towns and rural region, with over 450 small service or commercial businesses in the 2001 municipal census. In addition, Renfrew is an easy rest or activity stop for Ottawa-based cottagers and outdoor enthusiasts passing by on their way to nearby whitewater rafting, boating, camping, hunting, golfing, fishing, snowmobiling, down-hill skiing, and cross-country skiing. However, the area's largest single employers are the Renfrew Victoria Hospital and the Bonnechere Manor[3], and additional retirement facilities have opened since the census. In addition to numerous small employers, there are also several moderate sized manufacturing facilities employing several hundred people; Scapa Tapes Renfrew, formerly Renfrew Tape makes products such as hockey tape that is used across North America and the duct tape brand featured on the discontinued Red Green Show. In addition, Times Fibre Canada and Estate Hardwood Flooring have manufacturing facilities in town, and recently Teletech opened a large North America-wide call centre in the former Renfrew mall. Renfrew is also home to many successful small businesses. Between 2000 and 2005, a major portion of Refrew's retail business, and the associated customer services jobs, shifted from the west-end Renfrew mall to the east-end formally-industrial park due to the opening of several major big-box and smaller retail stores just off Highway 17.

Despite the apparent prosperity, Statistics Canada reported the average earnings of Renfrew residents in 2000 as $35,811, or roughly 31% lower than the provincial average and 5% lower than the county average[4]. Further, the town reports, relative to the population size and compared to the province as a whole, fewer positions in management, business, finance, administration and natural or applied sciences, while there was greater than the provincial rates of occupation in sales and service, trades, transport and equipment operators, processing, manufacturing and utilitie.

Festivals

• Renfrew is the annual host and sponsor of the Ottawa Valley Lumber Barron Festival, a celebration of the towns roots in the logging industry. The Lumber Barron Festival would later become known as Valleyfest, dropping its historical roots.
• The Renfrew Fair has been drawing mixed crowds for decades with its rides, competitions, demolition derby, musical acts and livestock showcase. The fair takes place one the second weekend of every September and lasts from Wednesday afternoon until Sunday afternoon.
• In recent years local farm-owner Andy Taylor has hosted FarmJam, a twelve-hour festival featuring varying musical acts.
• In 2008 Renfrew will be 150 years old.They will celebrate with a year-long celebration.Begins on January 1,2008.Ends on December 31,2008.
• In 2009 Renfrew will host the 18th annual Ontario Swingers Festival.

Famous people from Renfrew

• Ambrose O'Brien
• Charlotte Whitton
• Professional ice hockey player, member of NHL, Hall of Fame inductee "Terrible" Ted Lindsay
• Professional NHL ice hockey players Lorne Anderson, Archie Brydon and Bill Brydge
• W. H. Davies famous Welsh "tramp-poet" lost his foot trying to jump a freight train at Renfrew on the evening of March 20 1899. He was subsequently cared for at the local hospital, to which he was forever indebted.

Renfrew's museum, the McDougall Mill Museum

John Lorn McDougall, politician and fur trader, built the mill in 1855 by the Bonnechere River near the town landmark Swinging Bridge and overlooking natural rapids below the Ontario Hydro generating station. It has been converted into a museum, sometimes referred to as 'Renfrew Museum', not to be confused with museums of that name in Pennsylvania and Scotland. The McDougall Mill Museum houses pioneer tools and machinery, a military section, a doll exhibit, as well as toys, Victorian clothing and household items.