Kemptville is a community located in the Municipality of North Grenville in Southern (Eastern) Ontario, Canada in the northernmost part of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. It is located approximately 56Â km south of Ottawa and 2.5 to 3Â km south of the Rideau River.
The community can be accessed by way of the former Highway 16 and Leeds and Grenville Road 43, the former Highway 43, which links Perth and former [Highway 34 (Ontario)Alexandria]. It is now accessed by Highway 416, also known as the Veterans Memorial Highway, which was completed in 1999, via an interchange to the east on the old road to Alexandria.
Kemptville is the largest community in North Grenville, holding about 23% of North Grenville's population. Three elementary schools are located in the town - Holy Cross Catholic School, Kemptville Public School and South Branch Elementary School -, two high schools - North Grenville District High School and St. Michael Catholic High School -, three parks, and two hotels. The residential area is generally located in the south and east parts of the community. The main streets are Rideau, Prescott, Clothier and Van Buren streets. A creek named Kemptville Creek divides Kemptville in the southeast, where the least part of Kemptville is found. The creek begins southwest of Kemptville and empties 4Â km NE into the Rideau River. Much of Kemptville is forested, especially east and north of the community. Farmland covers the rest of the area, especially the west and the southern part of the community, with some exceptions. There are some homes lying next to the farmland.
History of Kemptville
Knights Inn Kemptville - Kemptville Hotels, Canada - Knights Inn Kemptville 3 Stars hotel in Kemptville, Canada Within US Travel Directory Rideau River Provincial Park is a 15-minute drive from this Ontario hotel.
The small town of Kemptville began to emerge from the forest in the township of Oxford when Lyman Clothier, a resident of New England, bought 100 acres (0.40Â km2) of land from a John Byce, for the price of a yoke of oxen, and a fusee (i.e. here, a flintlock rifle). Mr. Clothier had lived in the general area since 1804 or 1805, and in 1812 he made the afore-mentioned transaction with Mr. Byce, to establish a lumber mill. Mr. Clothier began construction of a saw mill with the assistance of his 4 sons, and they built two dwellings in what is now Kemptville. This mill was extremely important for the settling of the community, as in order to construct a crude dwelling, lumber was required - and so, the mill began to facilitate the construction of dwellings for settlers all over Oxford Township.
The village location chosen by Mr. Clothier was a location that became a point on the Ottawa - Prescott road. As a result, and as a direct consequence of the many travellers passing through the settlement, one of Mr. Clothier's sons, Asa, made a habit of opening his home to these travellers as a resting place and as a meeting place. Thus, the "Clothier's Hotel" was born. The next major industry to be established was that of a grist mill in 1821, when the Clothiers placed some grinding stones in the lower part of their saw mill. As a result of this, rather than taking their grain to a site on the St. Lawrence River, which would be a daunting hike in the best of conditions, or grinding the grain in an extremely ineffective and crude fashion, the settlers could now take it to this grist mill. After this was established, a blacksmith's shop was established, run also by the Clothiers. A schoolhouse was established in 1823, which served the surrounding communities for many years. The first physician arrived in the community the year after the school was established.
The small village was fast expanding - and the residents of the region were beginning to think about officially giving a dignified name to the location in which they lived. Initially, the community was known as "The Branch", and later, for obvious reasons, "Clothier's Mill". So, during a public meeting at this time, the name "Kemptville" was suggested, to honour Sir James Kempt, the Governor General of Upper Canada in 1828 who was said to have camped on the banks of the Rideau River near the settlement. The name was adopted in the late 1820s and the first map with the name "Kemptville" was produced in 1830. [1]
A weekly newspaper is published in Kemptville, called the Kemptville Advance, and has been published since 1855. The Kemptville Advance celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2005.
Timeline
1791 - Oxford-On-Rideau surveyed
1804-05 - Lyman Clothier moves into Oxford-On-Rideau
1814 - Lyman Clothier buys 100 acres (0.40Â km2) in Kemptville
1815 - Clothier family open sawmill, blacksmiths shop, and carding machine for weaving
1819 - First hotel opened
1821 - First Mill is opened. First store and post office follow shortly thereafter
1826 - St. James Anglican church parish is formed
1829 - "Kemptville" is formally acknowledged as the town's name; Holy Cross Parish is established
1832 - Methodist Church is erected and another hotel opens
1838 - Another carding machine and saw mill open
1843 - First Steamboat is built in Kemptville by Lyman Clothier Jr.; the Amanda named after his daughter/girlfriend on the side...
1844 - The First Grammar School is built on Clothier Street
1847 - Baptist Church is built on the North Main Street
1848 - Another mill is built which also acted as a distillery for a time
1851-52 - Population of Upper Canada: 952,004
1851 - The first Presbyterian Church is built; First stamp the 3 penny Beaver is released in Canada
1854 - The Railroad comes to Kemptville allowing for easier access to goods and trade
1855 - Kemptville Fire Department is formed; Kemptville's first paper "The Progressionist" hits the streets
1857 - Kemptville becomes incorporated
1861 - Population of Kemptville is 1059
1865 - Clothier Mills is built
1869 - Sellecks Mill is built as an egg factory; the New Methodist Church is built
1870 - First library is formed
1872 - The first Great Fire which destroys most of downtown Kemptville
1874 - The Kemptville Academy is built as the central school; the town hall is built; a hose tower is built to help combat fire in town
1879 - Memorial Church of Kemptville is built
1881 - First Steam Engine is purchased for the Fire Department
1885 - Bakery is built on 115 Clothier Street East
1888 - Holy Cross Church designed by Joseph Connolly is built; the district High School is built; the Salvation Army comes to Kemptville; Electricity comes to Kemptville via a mill which lights the Oddfellows hall for a fair
1895 - Bank of Ottawa opens (later becoming the Bank of Nova Scotia)
1899 - The Horticultural Society is formed in Kemptville
1845-1900 - The rise of the Service clubs
1910 - The worst fire of the century occurred, wiping out many of the buildings along Prescott Street
1936 North Grenville District High School Opens On Prescott st.
1999- St. Michael Catholic High School opens on County Road 43
2012- North Grenville District High School opens on Concession rd.
Sports
The Kemptville 73's are a Tier II Junior "A" ice hockey team and members of the Central Junior A Hockey League. The team was founded as the Kemptville Comets of the Rideau-St. Lawrence Junior B Hockey League in 1969, but the league later became the Eastern Ontario Junior B Hockey League and the Comets became the 73's in 1973. The 73's were promoted to Junior "A" in the Summer of 2007.
Birthplace of 1930's NHL player Desse (Desmond) Roche.
Media
On December 13, 2010, the Haliburton Broadcasting Group which owns a number of radio stations across Ontario has applied to operate a new radio station at Kemptville. The new station received approval by the CRTC on April 21, 2011. The new station will operate at 97.5 Star FMFM/MHz with an adult contemporary format and will also be Kemptville's first local commercial radio station.
See also
- Kemptville Campus, University of Guelph
- Kemptville Creek
- North Grenville
References
External links
- Municipality of North Grenville
- Explore North Grenville
- Old Town Kemptville
