Westport, Ontario

Westport [1] is located in Eastern Ontario at the west end of Upper Rideau Lake, at the head of the navigable Rideau Canal system, between Kingston and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Village of Westport was incorporated as an independent municipality in 1904. Surrounded by the Township of Rideau Lakes within Leeds and Grenville County, Westport is one of Ontario's smallest municipalities. A quiet little village with a population of about 700 (2001), it is a very popular destination for tourists due to the number of interesting shops in the town. A public wharf on a man-made island has dock space for up to 30 vessels. The harbour also has a picnic area, barbecues, and sewage pumpout facilities.

Fishing in the area is particularly good because of the fish-rearing ponds set up by the Government of Ontario in 1957. Yellow perch, smallmouth bass, pickerel and Northern pike populate the waters.

Foley Mountain Conservation Area, the highest conservation area in the Rideau Valley, is a picturesque park overlooking Westport. It features a variety of wildlife in 308 hectares (2.4 km²) of woods and fields. The area also has a sandy beach with change facilities. The 300 km - long Rideau Trail, linking Kingston and Ottawa, passes through the conservation area.

Events in Westport include the annual Antique Show and Sale, held on the first weekend in June, the annual Rideau Valley Art Festival, held at the end of August, and the very popular Fall Colours Studio Tour, held annually on Thanksgiving weekend in October.

History

The first settlers to the Westport area arrived in the period between 1810 and 1820. The land on which Westport now sits was originally granted by the Crown to a Mr. Hunter, but he never settled in the area and was eventually purchased by Reuben Sherwood in 1817. Some of this land was later purchased by the Stoddard and Manhard families. The small community was known as Head of the Lake. In 1828, Stoddard built a saw mill and in 1829 the Manhards built a saw mill and grist mill. It became known at that time as Manhard's Mills. It was two local merchants, Aaron Chambers and Lewis Cameron, who in 1841, named the village Westport, the name reflecting its location at the west end of Upper Rideau Lake. The village of Westport was incorporated in 1904.

Westport remained a thriving commercial centre through the 19th century and into the 20th century. The building of the Rideau Canal allowed goods to be shipped north to Ottawa and south to Kingston. In 1882, an entrepreneur named R.G. Harvey proposed an ambitious project to build a railway from Brockville to Sault Ste. Marie. The project ran out of money after the section from Brockville to Westport had been completed in 1888. The Brockville-Westport line moved goods, mail and people to and from the St. Lawrence River and Westport. Many cheese factories were located between Brockville and Westport. The train was therefore known as the "cheese run." The rail line also brought tourists north to Westport starting a tradition of Westport as a tourist destination. The last train travelled the B&W line in 1952.

Services

Westport is served by an Ontario Provincial Police station. It also has its own volunteer fire department. The Westport Review-Mirror, the community newspaper, is published on Wednesdays. With a subscription base of only 700, it is one of Ontario's smallest weeklies. The village of westport also has a prestigious pharmacy with a gift shop and sears outlet.

External links

• Westport Village
• Foley Mountain Conservation Area

It is also the home of the provincially renowned, travelling band Bullmoose.