Huntsville, Ontario

Huntsville, Ontario
Town
File:Ontario-huntsville.PNG
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
District	Muskoka Region
Settled	1869
Incorporated	1886
Area
• Total	26.53 sq mi (68.72 km2)
Population  (2006)
• Total	18,280
Website	Official website

Huntsville (2006 population 18,280) is a town in the Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada.

The area was first settled and founded in 1869 by Captain George Hunt, who built a small agricultural centre there. In 1870, a post office was built and the area was named Huntsville after Hunt, who became the first postmaster. In the following year, the Muskoka Colonization Road reached this area. A water route north from Port Sydney to Huntsville opened in 1877 and a railway route was built by the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway in 1885, which encouraged development and resulted in Huntsville becoming officially incorporated in 1886.

The community became an important industrial area in the late 19th century and had several saw, planing and shingle mills, as well as a tannery. Today, the many lakes and hills in the area and the town's closeness to Algonquin Park, combined with its proximity to Toronto, make Huntsville and the Muskoka region a major tourist destination.

Communities

In addition to the main townsite of Huntsville, the communities of Allensville, Ashworth, Aspdin, Britannia Road, Canal, Centurion, Etwell, Hidden Valley, Ilfracombe, Lancelot, Martins, Melissa, Muskoka Lodge, Newholm, Norvern Shores, Parkersville, Port Sydney, Ravenscliffe, Stanleydale, Utterson, Vernon Shores, Williamsport and Yearley are located within the municipal boundaries.

Culture

Many summer camps for children such as Muskoka Woods and Olympia Sports Camp are within a few kilometers of Huntsville. Resorts such as Deerhurst Resort, where Shania Twain was discovered in 1988-1989, and Hidden Valley Resort are located within the town's boundaries.

Huntsville supports a number of arts festivals, including Huntsville Festival of the Arts. The Huntsville Festival of the Arts recently provided a seed grant which enabled a book of poetry entitled Fringe Festival Poetry, Poems from the Poetry Cafe, edited by June Salmon and Marta Mirecki-de Roode. Other arts activities include the annual Muskoka Novel Marathon, started by Canadian authors Martin Avery and Mel Malton in 2001. The town is especially proud of its new municipal centre and performing arts theatre, the Algonquin Theatre.

The theatre provides a beautiful and professional space for local dance, music, and school activities. For profit venues are also scheduled, and most of the labour is provided by local volunteers.

Rocker Hawksley Workman was born and raised in Huntsville. His 2003 album Lover/Fighter included a track called "Ilfracombe".

Economy

Major employers in Huntsville include Panolam and Kimberly Clark.

Transportation

Huntsville is accessible through a variety of roadways, including Highway 60, Highway 11 and Muskoka (Regional) Road 3. Buses to and from Toronto come into the city daily. Passenger train service to the town from Toronto is provided daily by Ontario Northland.

Huntsville has a public transit system consisting of a single bus route.

Sports

Hockey and lacrosse are popular sports in Huntsville. The town is the hometown of sports icons such as Jack Bionda, for whom Huntsville's municipal arena is named, and Ethan Moreau, who currently plays in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers and was named captain at the start of the 2007-08 season.

The town has a lacrosse team, the Huntsville Hawks of the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League, as well as two female hockey teams, the Huntsville Honeys and Huntsville Huskies Midget C. The town also has an Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League team called the Huntsville Otters, which has had many talented players move on, including Blake Parlett.

George Selkirk, a major league baseball player, was born here in 1908. Selkirk succeeded the legendary Babe Ruth as the right fielder for the New York Yankees.

Demographics

Racial Profile

• 98.5% White
• 1.0% Aboriginal
• 0.2% Korean
• 0.2% other
• 0.1% Chinese

Religious Groups

• 57.0% Protestant
• 15.6% Roman Catholic
• 2.0% other Christian
• 0.08% Jewish

Age Group

• 0-14 years: 18.9%
• 15-64 years: 67.6%
• 65 years and over: 16.8%

The town of Huntsville grows by an average 1.78% a year.

Media

Radio

• FM 94.3 - CBLU, CBC Radio One
• FM 98.9 - CJLF-3, Christian
• FM 105.5 - CFBK ("More FM"), hot adult contemporary
• FM 106.9 - CBL-1, CBC Radio Two

Television

• Channel 8: CBLT-TV-2 - CBC Television
• Channel 11: CICI-TV-11 - CTV Northern Ontario
• Channel 13: CICA-TV-13 - TVOntario

External links

• Official website of the Town of Huntsville
• Huntsville Festival of the Arts
• Ontario Highway 11 Homepage - Huntsville

45°20′N 79°13′W