Rideau Lakes is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

located within Leeds and Grenville United Counties in Eastern Ontario,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. The township was incorporated on 1 January 1998 by amalgamating the former townships of North Crosby, South Crosby, Bastard, South Burgess and South Elmsley with the village of Newboro. Rideau Lakes lies in the northwest corner of Leeds and Grenville, and is geographically the largest municipality in the county.

Farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

, and service industries form the backbone of the local

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

. The many tourist attractions in Rideau Lakes, including historic

trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

, the stone arch dam at Jones Falls, and the

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name ''Rideau'', French for "curtain", ...

, are also an important part of the township's economy. Rideau Lakes has of shoreline, excluding the Rideau Waterway. The waterway itself traverses the township, from the towering

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

cliffs near Chaffeys Lock to the more gentle and pastoral areas of the Lower Rideau Lake.

Communities

Rideau Lakes contains many villages and hamlets, including Chaffeys Lock, Chantry, Crosby, Daytown, Delta, Elgin, Forfar, Freeland, Harlem, Jones Falls,

Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , ...

, Morton, Newboro, Newboyne, Philipsville, Plum Hollow, Portland, Rideau Ferry, and Scotch Point. The township administrative offices are located in the hamlet of Chantry. The independent village of Westport is entirely surrounded by Rideau Lakes, but is not part of the township. The town of Smiths Falls is mostly located in

Lanark County Lanark County is a county located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is Perth, which was first settled in 1816.Brown, Howard Morton, 1984. Lanark Legacy, Nineteenth Century Glimpses of on Ontario County. Corporation of the C ...

, while parts of the southern areas of the town is in the township of Rideau Lakes in the

United Counties of Leeds and Grenville The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, commonly known as Leeds and Grenville, is a county in Ontario, Canada, in the Eastern Ontario subregion of Southern Ontario. It fronts on the Saint Lawrence River and the international boundary between ...

Newboro

A plaque was erected by the Ontario Heritage Foundation commemorating the founding of Newboro with the building of the

in 1826–32. Benjamin Tett settled here in 1833. He opened a store and later a post office. The community served as a major construction camp during the building of the Rideau Canal. Newboro was a trade centre for the region's lumbering industry and agriculture. The economic development of the community was enabled by the shipment of iron ore from local mines via the Rideau canal to smelters in Pittsburgh and Cleveland during the latter part of the 19th century. The Village of Newboro was incorporated in 1876.

Chaffey's Lock

A plaque was erected by the Ontario Heritage Foundation commemorating the founding of Chaffey's Lock by Benjamin and Samuel Chaffey, who established mills here in 1820. Samuel Chaffey settling here shortly thereafter. The site included a distillery and saw, grist, carding, and fulling mills by 1827. The mills were flooded by the building of the

. A plaque was erected by the Chaffey's Lock and Area Heritage Society commemorating the founders, early builders, and all who have been part of the Chaffey's Lock community. Plaques have been erected by individuals and families on the Memory Wall, at Chaffey's Lock Cemetery. The

Queen's University Biological Station Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (Saara Aalto song), 2018 * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", a song by ...

is located just southwest of Chaffey's Lock. Image:Crosby ON.JPG, Old school building in Crosby Image:Elgin ON.JPG, Elgin Image:Lombardy ON.JPG, Lombardy Image:Newboro ON.JPG, Newboro Trout island is a double island on the Rideau lakes; it became famous for its great trout fishing. There are three cottages on the island.

Tourism and attractions

The

Rideau Trail The Rideau Trail is a hiking trail in Ontario, Canada, linking Ottawa and Kingston.Trischuk, Ernie, and Linda Hayes, ''The Rideau Trail Guidebook'', (Rideau Trail Association, Kingston, 7th ed., 2006) Crossing both public and private lands, ...

, a 300-km footpath from Kingston to Ottawa, passes through the township. The highest point on the trail is located in the Foley Mountain Conservation Area, which is located within the township. The Cataraqui Trail, a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetc ...

on a former Canadian National right-of-way, goes through the township, passing near Portland, Elgin, and Chaffey's Lock. The Old Stone Mill National Historic Site is located within the village of Delta.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...

, Rideau Lakes had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Population trend:Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census * Population in 2011: 10,207 * Population in 2006: 10,350 * Population in 2001: 9,687 * Population in 1996: ** Bastard and South Burgess Township: 2692 ** Newboro Village: 291 ** North Crosby Township: 1097 ** South Crosby Township: 1910 ** South Elmsley Township: 3574 * Population in 1991: ** Bastard and South Burgess Township: 2610 ** Newboro Village: 282 ** North Crosby Township: 968 ** South Crosby Township: 1677 ** South Elmsley Township: 3065 Mother tongue:Statistics Canada 2006 Census
Rideau Lakes community profile
/ref> * English as first language: 94.2% * French as first language: 2.1% * English and French as first language: 0.3% * Other as first language: 3.4%

References

External links

* {{Geographic location , Centre = Rideau Lakes
{{nobold, (surrounds Westport) , North =

Drummond/North Elmsley Drummond/North Elmsley is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada in Lanark County. It is situated on the north shore of the Rideau River between the town of Perth and the town of Smiths Falls. It is a predominantly rural municipality. The township ...

, Northeast = Smiths Falls
Merrickville-Wolford , East =

Elizabethtown-Kitley Elizabethtown-Kitley is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. Its southern border lies along the St. Lawrence River and it extends north into many rural hamlets and villages. The township was create ...

, Southeast =

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, South = Leeds and the Thousand Islands , Southwest = , West = South Frontenac , Northwest =

Tay Valley Tay Valley is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, on the Tay River in the southwest corner of Lanark County, adjacent to the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville and Frontenac County. The township administrative offices are located in Glen ...

Township municipalities in Ontario Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in Leeds and Grenville United Counties Populated places established in 1998 1998 establishments in Ontario