Smiths Falls

Smiths Falls was incorporated first as a village in 1854, and then as a town in 1882.

It is named after Thomas Smyth, a United Empire Loyalist who in 1786 was granted {{convert|400|acre|km2|order=flip}} in what is present-day Smiths Falls. The Heritage House Museum (c. 1862), also known as the Ward House, was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1977.{{CRHP|8518|Heritage House Museum}}

In about 1920 the town council voted to change the name from Smith's Falls to Smiths Falls, and this spelling entered general use, but in 1967 the Ontario Municipal Board stated that it was not official and the town's legal documents must use the spelling Smith's Falls found in the 1882 order-in-council of incorporation. The town then applied to the provincial government for an official change to Smiths Falls, and in 1968 the legislature granted the change by private bill.{{cite news|periodical=Globe and Mail|location=Toronto|title=What's in a name?: Smiths—or Smith's—Falls tackles mystery of apostrophe|date=1967-12-12|page=45}}{{cite news|periodical=Toronto Daily Star|title=Smith's Falls now becomes Smiths Falls|date=1968-02-28|page=16}}

File:Smiths Falls Ontario.JPG in Smiths Falls]]

At the time of construction of the Rideau Canal a small settlement had been established around a mill operated by Abel Russell Ward, who had bought Smyth's land. Colonel By ordered the removal of Ward's mill to make way for the canal. He settled with Ward for £1,500, one of the largest claims made by mill owners on the canal.

The disruption of industry caused by the building of the canal was only temporary, and Smiths Falls grew rapidly following construction. An article in Smith's Gazetteer in 1846 described the town as a "flourishing little village pleasantly situated on the Rideau River and on the Canal, {{convert|14|mi|km|spell=in|order=flip}} from Perth. It contains about 700 inhabitants. There are fifty dwellings, two grist mills (one with four run of stones), two sawmills, one carding and fulling mill, seven stores, six groceries, one axe factory, six blacksmiths, two wheelwrights, one cabinet maker, one chair-maker, three carpenters, one gunsmith, eleven shoemakers, seven tailors, one tinsmith and two taverns."

A {{convert|36|ft|m|adj=on|order=flip}} drop in less than {{convert|1/4|mi|order=flip}} posed an obstacle to navigation at Smiths Falls. A natural depression to the south of the river was used to create a flight of three locks, known as Combined Lockstation today. The natural course of the river was dammed to create a basin upstream of the locks. At the upper end of the basin a fourth (detached) lock was constructed.

{{convert|1|mi|km|spell=In|order=flip}} below the Combined Lockstation is a flight of two locks called the Old Slys Lockstation. This station is named for the original settler at this location, William Sly. A dam and waste weir control water levels upstream of the locks.

Defensible lockmasters' houses were built at all three stations in Smiths Falls. The house at Old Slys was built in 1838 and the houses at Combined and Detached around 1842. Only the house at Combined has a second storey, which was added late in the 19th century. The defensible lockmaster's house at Detached Lockstation was torn down in 1894.

File:Bascule Bridge, Smiths Falls.jpg, a Canadian National Historic Site]]

In the 1850s the major railway companies were looking to build main trunk lines linking Toronto, Kingston and Montreal. The two major companies at the time, the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Grand Trunk Railway, were competing for the easiest routes to lay track. At one point a fledgling third national railway, the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR), was also trying to squeeze itself into the busy Montréal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor.

For a number of geographical reasons, and also due to the proximity of the Rideau Canal, the town of Smiths Falls became a major focal point for both the CPR and the CNoR. Each used a mix of existing regional rail lines and new construction to build their networks. CP purchased the 1859-era Brockville and Ottawa Railway, a line from Brockville-Smiths Falls-Sand Point/Arnprior with a branch Smiths Falls-Perth (the latter joining CP's Ontario and Quebec Railway line to Toronto). CNoR built a 1914-era main line from Ottawa-Smiths Falls-Sydenham (to join an existing Bay of Quinte Railway line extending westward via Napanee-Deseronto{{cite web|url=http://rmeo.org/hist_proj/?page_id=728|title=Smiths Falls comes of age - Smiths Falls Railway History Project|date=30 January 2013|access-date=21 October 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130183536/http://rmeo.org/hist_proj/?page_id=728|archive-date=30 January 2013}}). By 1887, the CPR had extended its Toronto-Smiths Falls mainline to reach Montréal; in 1924, 1600 CPR workers were employed in Smiths Falls.{{cite web|url=http://rmeo.org/hist_proj/?page_id=690|title=The Railway Metropolis of the Ottawa Valley - Smiths Falls Railway History Project|date=30 January 2013|access-date=21 October 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130182238/http://rmeo.org/hist_proj/?page_id=690|archive-date=30 January 2013}}

This gave the town direct rail lines in half a dozen directions (towards Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Brockville, Napanee and Arnprior) on two different rail companies.

During World War II, Axis prisoners of war (POWs) were transported to Canadian POW camps via the railway. It was near Smiths Falls that German soldier Oberleutnant Franz von Werra jumped from a POW train and escaped to the United States, eventually reaching his homeland.{{cite web|url=http://www.animatedsoftware.com/misc/theworld/vonwerra/fw410127.htm|title=Barron Von Werra Begins Tour of "Sights" After Arrival in New York City -- January 27, 1941|website=Animatedsoftware.com|access-date=21 October 2017}} Von Werra was, reputedly, the only escaped Axis POW to successfully return home during the war and his story was told in the book and film entitled The One That Got Away.{{cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Douglas G. |title=Franz von Werra - The One That Got Away |url=http://home.cogeco.ca/~dgphillips/werra.htm |access-date=8 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030526210208/http://home.cogeco.ca/~dgphillips/werra.htm |archive-date=26 May 2003}} The North American première of the film occurred on Thursday, 6 March 1958 at the Soper Theatre in Smiths Falls.{{cite web|title=The One That Got Away|url=http://www.plane-crazy.net/movies/21.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905010855/http://www.plane-crazy.net/movies/21.htm|archive-date=5 Sep 2017|access-date=9 Nov 2021|website=Plane-crazy.net}}

Both the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian Northern (later part of Canadian National) had established stations in the town, however, with the creation of Via Rail, the CN station was abandoned and all passenger traffic routed through the CPR station until a new Smiths Falls railway station opened in 2010. The CN station has been renovated and is now home to the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario. The railway station, along with the nearby railway bascule bridge, comprise the town's two National Historic Sites of Canada.{{CRHP|7786|Smiths Falls Railway Station (Canadian Northern)}}{{CRHP|7867|Smiths Falls Bascule Bridge}} The Cataraqui Trail now follows the former CN railbed southwest from Smiths Falls, starting from a parking lot at the end of Ferrara Drive.

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Smiths Falls had a population of {{val|9254|fmt=commas}} living in {{val|4311|fmt=commas}} of its {{val|4523|fmt=commas}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:9254-8780}}|8780|1}} from its 2016 population of {{val|8780|fmt=commas}}. With a land area of {{convert|9.66|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|9254|9.66|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.

{{Canada census

|2021_population=9,254 | 2021_pop_delta=+5.4 | 2021_land_area=9.66 | 2021_pop_density=958.1

|2021_median_age=47.2 | 2021_median_age_m=44.4 | 2021_median_age_f=50.0

|2021_total_pvt_dwell=4,523 |2021_occ_pvt_dwell=4,311 | 2021_mean_hh_income=61,200 |2021_geocode=2021A00053509004 |2021_access_date=2025-04-01

|2016_population=8,780 | 2016_pop_delta=-2.2 | 2016_land_area=9.66 | 2016_pop_density=909.1

|2016_median_age=48.1 | 2016_median_age_m=45.9 | 2016_median_age_f=49.8

|2016_total_pvt_dwell=4,387 | 2016_mean_hh_income= | 2016_access_date=2019-06-19

|2011_population=8,978 | 2011_pop_delta=+2.0 | 2011_land_area=9.61 | 2011_pop_density=934.6

|2011_median_age= | 2011_median_age_m= | 2011_median_age_f=

|2011_total_pvt_dwell=4,383 | 2011_mean_hh_income= | 2011_access_date=2012-02-14

|2006_population=8,777 – see notes | 2006_pop_delta=-4.0 | 2006_land_area=8.20 | 2006_pop_density=1070.7

|2006_median_age=42.9 | 2006_median_age_m=41.0 | 2006_median_age_f=44.8

|2006_total_pvt_dwell=4,106 | 2006_mean_hh_income=42,446 | 2006_access_date=2012-02-14

|2001_population=9,140 | 2001_pop_delta=+0.1 | 2001_land_area=8.21 | 2001_pop_density=1113.7

|2001_median_age=40.1 | 2001_median_age_m=38.0 | 2001_median_age_f=42.0

|2001_total_pvt_dwell=4,097 | 2001_mean_hh_income=38,974 | 2001_access_date=2012-02-14

|notes=

}}

{{Historical populations

|title = {{Nowrap|Historical census populations –}} Smiths Falls

|type = Canada

|align = none

|cols = 3

|percentages =

|footnote = 2006 population adjusted to 2011 boundaries is 9,163

|source = Statistics Canada{{cite web |title=Census Profile, 2016 Census: Smiths Falls, Town | date=8 February 2017 |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3509004&Geo2=CD&Code2=3509&SearchText=smiths&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1&type=0 |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=June 19, 2019}}Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census

| 1871 | 1150

| 1881 | 2087

| 1891 | 3864

| 1901 | 5155

| 1911 | 6370

| 1921 | 6790

| 1931 | 7108

| 1941 | 7088

| 1951 | 8441

| 1961 | 9603

| 1971 | 9585

| 1981 | 8831

| 1991 | 9396

| 2001 | 9140

| 2006 | 8777

| 2011 | 8978

| 2016 | 8780

| 2021 | 9254

}}

The town is on the Rideau Canal system for recreational boating, and is served by the Smiths Falls-Montague Airport (Russ Beach) for general aviation. It is also a major railway junction point, and its station receives regular passenger service to Ottawa and Toronto from Via Rail.

Several manufacturers were based in Smiths Falls, perhaps the best-known being the Canadian operation of The Hershey Company (opened in 1963) which closed in December 2008.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/hershey-confirms-smiths-falls-plant-will-close-1.643712|title=CBC.ca: Hershey confirms Smiths Falls plant will close}} Hershey announced they would instead open a factory in Mexico, where they could obtain cheaper labour. In late 2006, the plant was temporarily closed due to a case of possible salmonella contamination.{{cite web |last1=Wilcox |first1=Don |title=Smiths Falls' biggest employer doomed |url=http://www.ottawasun.com/Money/2007/02/16/3637641-sun.html |publisher=The Ottawa Sun |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218125027/http://www.ottawasun.com/Money/2007/02/16/3637641-sun.html |archive-date=February 18, 2007 |date=February 16, 2007}} Other former large manufacturers include RCA Victor (closed circa 1980), Frost and Wood / Cockshutt and Stanley Tools (2008). The closure of the Rideau Regional hospital site in March 2009 resulted in a further loss of jobs from the community. However, the {{convert|350|acre|km2|order=flip|adj=on}} site was purchased by a local developer (who made an unsuccessful bid for mayor in the 2018 election) and renamed the Gallipeau Centre. It is a mixed use property with residential and recreational uses including condominiums, a recreational facility, swimming pool and theatre.{{cite web |url=https://gallipeaucentre.com/ |title=Gallipeau Centre |access-date=April 12, 2019}} In 2014, the former Hershey facility was purchased by medical marijuana company Tweed Marijuana Inc,{{cite news|title=When Cannabis Goes Corporate| work=The New York Times | date=24 May 2014 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/business/international/when-cannabis-goes-corporate.html?_r=1|access-date=21 October 2017 | last1=Austen | first1=Ian }} now known as publicly traded company Canopy Growth Corporation (TSE:WEED). The town has been cited as the "Pot Capital of Canada".{{cite news |last1=Alexander |first1=Doug |title=This Little Canadian Town Has Become the Nation's Pot Capital |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-29/with-hershey-gone-canadian-town-embraces-mantle-as-pot-capital |access-date=October 9, 2018 |publisher=Bloomberg |date=December 29, 2017}} Over 750 jobs have been created by Canopy Growth which has revitalized the town's economy after the departure of the Hershey factory and the closure of Rideau Regional Centre.{{cite news |last1=Bagnall |first1=James |title=The day Smiths Falls' luck finally turned: The story of a marijuana boom town |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/the-day-smiths-falls-luck-finally-turned-the-story-of-a-marijuana-boom-town |access-date=October 9, 2018 |publisher=The Ottawa Citizen |date=September 21, 2018}} Investment by Constellation Brands of $5B in Canopy Growth Corporation has helped further secure the positive economic potential for Smiths Falls. The company is continuing to grow and expand, creating new local jobs.{{cite news |title=Constellation Brands invests $5B in Canopy Growth |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/constellation-brands-canopy-growth-1.4785786 |access-date=April 5, 2019 |publisher=CBC News |date=August 15, 2018}} Canopy has purchased the site of the closed Shorewood Packaging building to construct a facility for bottling cannabis infused beverages.{{cite news |last1=Harford |first1=Evelyn |title=What's going on here? Tweed constructs bottling plant in Smiths Falls to manufacture cannabis-infused beverages |url=https://www.insideottawavalley.com/news-story/9242778-what-s-going-on-here-tweed-constructs-bottling-plant-in-smiths-falls-to-manufacture-cannabis-infused-beverages/ |access-date=April 9, 2019 |work=InsideOttawaValley.com |agency=Smiths Falls Record News |date=March 27, 2019}} As well, chocolate has begun to flow again at the site of the former Hershey plant as Canopy Growth has commenced the production of cannabis infused chocolate edibles.{{cite news |title=Canopy Growth to produce cannabis-infused chocolates in Smiths Falls |url=https://obj.ca/article/canopy-growth-produce-cannabis-infused-chocolates-smiths-falls |date=June 25, 2019 |first=Craig |last=Lord |publisher=Great River Media |website=Ottawa Business Journal|access-date=June 28, 2019}} Public tours of Tweed production are available to the public, similar to the Hershey factory tours. There has been significant growth in construction in the community.{{cite news |last1=Harford |first1=Evelyn |title='A busy year': Construction value in Smiths Falls up 442% |url=https://www.insideottawavalley.com/news-story/9229116--a-busy-year-construction-value-in-smiths-falls-up-442-/ |access-date=April 5, 2019 |work=InsideOttawaValley.com |agency=Smiths Falls Record News |date=March 19, 2019}} However, Canopy Growth resold the former Hershey plant back to Hershey in 2023 to reduce its debt.{{Cite news |last=Allan |first=Michelle |date=2023-08-17 |title=Canopy Growth to sell Smiths Falls HQ back to Hershey |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/canopy-growth-to-sell-smiths-falls-hq-back-to-hershey-1.6938333 |work=CBC News}}

Despite the policing of Smiths Falls being conducted by the Smiths Falls Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police operates two facilities in Smiths Falls, namely a Communications Centre and the Eastern Regional Headquarters. The Communications Centre is scheduled to close in June 2022.{{Cite news|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/closure-of-smiths-falls-communications-centre-wont-impact-service-opp-says |date=May 29, 2021|title=Closure of Smiths Falls communications centre won't impact service, OPP says |first=Todd |last=Hambleton |publisher=Ottawa Citizen |access-date=September 25, 2021}} There are presently no plans to close the Eastern Regional Headquarters.

The town's council includes a mayor and six councillors. The members of council elected as of the 2022 municipal election are:{{Cite web |date=25 Oct 2022 |title=Town of Smiths Falls Official Election Results |url=https://www.smithsfalls.ca/en/town-hall/resources/Documents/Elections/Official-Election-Results-Oct-25-2022.pdf |access-date=13 Mar 2023 |website=Town of Smiths Falls}}

• Mayor: Shawn Pankow
• Councillors:
• Jay Brennan
• Jennifer Miller
• Peter McKenna
• Chris McGuire
• Stephen Robinson
• Dawn Quinn

In 1906, a hockey team from Smiths Falls launched an unsuccessful challenge to win the Stanley Cup.{{cite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/hockeyu/history/cup/champs.html|title=NHL.com – The Stanley Cup|website=Nhl.com|access-date=21 October 2017}} Smiths Falls was home to a professional baseball team, the Smiths Falls Beavers, for one season in 1937. The team was a part of the Canadian–American League.

The town is currently home to the Junior A hockey team Smiths Falls Bears, who play in the Central Canada Hockey League. Smiths Falls is also home to the Settlers organization which is a member of the Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League (CPJHL), which operates throughout Ontario and Western Quebec.

There are many opportunities for minor and adult league sports including baseball, volleyball, basketball, soccer, ball hockey and hockey (for men and women). Lower Reach, located next to Rideau River, is home to baseball diamonds, soccer fields, play structures and a splash pad.

The Rideau Trail passes through Smiths Falls.

General hospital facilities and services are provided by the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital, with a site on Cornelia Street. Also located in Smiths Falls was the Rideau Regional Centre, which provided a residential program for mentally challenged and disabled persons from 1951 until its closure in March 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.kmlaw.ca/Case-Central/rideauclassaction|title=Cases Archive - Koskie Minsky LLP|publisher=Koskie Minsky LLP |access-date=October 21, 2017}}

Public education in the town is managed by the Upper Canada District School Board, while Catholic education is under the care of the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario. Each operates several elementary schools and one secondary school as listed below. Students who reside in the Smiths Falls area and wish to attend Catholic high school are bussed to Perth to St. John's Catholic High School.

• St. Francis de Sales Catholic Elementary School (French Immersion offered)
• St. Luke Catholic High School
• St. James Catholic education centre

• Duncan J. Schoular Public School
• Chimo Elementary School
• Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute
• T.J Leger Alternative School

• The Record-News – weekly newspaper

Digital local news:

• Record News – insideottawavalley.com
• Hometown News – hometownnews.ca

• FM 92.3 – CJET-FM - Country 92.3
• FM 101.1 – CKBY-FM, country music

File:1907 Postcard of Elmcroft in Smiths Falls.jpg, the house Francis T. Frost built in Smiths Falls in 1895]]

• Oliver R. Avison, doctor, pharmacist and missionary{{cite web |url=http://home.cogeco.ca/~dgphillips/Avison.htm |title=Avison of Korea|author=Douglas G. Phillips |access-date=2013-08-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523213826/http://home.cogeco.ca/~dgphillips/Avison.htm |archive-date=2012-05-23 }}

• Nicholas Bawlf, grain merchant
• Terry Carkner, former NHL player
• Francis Theodore Frost, businessman and politician
• E. A. Gilroy, Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president{{cite web|url=http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/people/ed-gilroy/|title=Gilroy, Ed|website=Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame|access-date=April 2, 2020}}
• Brooke Henderson, professional golfer{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/m/sports/golf/brooke-henderson-pga-championship-win-1.3632006 |title=Brooke Henderson wins women's PGA Championship in a playoff : 1st Canadian woman to win a major since 1968|website=Cbc.ca|access-date=October 21, 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/golf/brooke-henderson-becomes-winningest-pro-golfer-in-canadian-history-1.5177779 |title=Brooke Henderson becomes winningest pro golfer in Canadian history |publisher=CBC News|date=June 16, 2019|access-date=June 21, 2019}}
• Todd Lynn, fashion designer{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/todd-lynn-tailormade-rocknroll-2293427.html|title=Todd Lynn: Tailor-made rock'n'roll|date=6 June 2011|website=Independent.co.uk|access-date=21 October 2017}}{{cite web |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/todd-lynn-s-collection-rocks-the-high-street-1-3690929 |title=Todd Lynn's collection rocks the high street |website=Scotsman.com|access-date=October 21, 2017}}
• Gary McAdam, former NHL player
• Don McKenney, former NHL player
• Richard Gardiner Willis, Manitoba politician

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3509004&Geo2=CD&Code2=3509&Data=Count&SearchText=Smiths&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1|title=Smiths Falls census profile|publisher=Statistics Canada|work=2011 Census of Population|access-date=2012-02-14|archive-date=2016-01-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105103501/http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3509004&Geo2=CD&Code2=3509&Data=Count&SearchText=Smiths&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1|url-status=dead}}

}}

{{Wikisource1911Enc|Smith's Falls}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Smiths Falls}}
• {{Wikivoyage inline|Smiths Falls}}
• {{official|http://www.smithsfalls.ca}}

{{Geographic location

| Centre = Smiths Falls

| North = Montague

| East = Montague

| Southeast = Merrickville–Wolford

| Southwest = Rideau Lakes

| West = Drummond/North Elmsley

}}

{{Lanark County}}

{{Subdivisions of Ontario}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Populated places established in 1823

Category:Single-tier municipalities in Ontario

Category:Towns in Ontario