Batawa
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Batawa is a small community in southeastern
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada, in the city of
Quinte West Quinte West () is a city, geographically located in but List of Ontario separated municipalities, administratively separated from Hastings County, in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is on the western end of the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario. The Lake ...
. It was set up by the Bata Shoe company as a planned community around a shoe factory, which opened in 1939 and closed in 2000.


History

Conditions in Europe before World War II led Thomas J. Bata to search for a location in Canada to transfer operations. Batawa's location was chosen for its proximity to a lake, a railway, a highway, an airport, and cheap land. A factory town was built and opened in 1939. The Bata company owned the town, providing accommodations at a reasonable rate to its workers. The company controlled virtually all aspects of the village. There was a Bata grocery store, Bata recreation hall, Bata clubs, Bata teams, and a Bata shoe store. Many of the residents were immigrants from Bata's homeland,
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, who immigrated at the time of the factory's construction. One prominent group of Bata's European refugees to resettle in Canada were the employees of the Bata Shoe Company from
Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 75,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice River. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the modern city ...
,
Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...
, in 1939. Tomáš J. Baťa and 82 workers re-assembled the business in Batawa. The company would go on to produce military equipment for the Allied War effort. The town was initially the headquarters of Bata Shoe operations in Canada; the headquarters moved to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
in 1964. During the latter half of the 20th century, tariff barriers on shoe imports into Canada were reduced, allowing more and more low-cost shoes into Canada. Eventually, Bata determined the factory could not continue as a viable business operation and closed the factory in March 2000. As part of a strategy to cut costs, Bata consolidated production in lower-wage countries overseas. Bata Shoes closed its retail shoe stores in Canada one year later in 2001. Dalton Company converted the old Batawa shoe plant into a high-end residential condo complex in 2018


Geography

Batawa is situated on the west bank of the Trent River, and nearby is Lock 4 of the Trent-Severn Waterway, a major water transportation system.Angus, James T. ''A Respectable Ditch: A History of the Trent-Severn Waterway 1833-1920''. McGill-Queens University Press, Montreal and Kingston, 1988.


Services

* Quinte West Fire Department Station 5 * Sacred Heart Catholic School * Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church * Batawa Community Centre Batawa is represented by three councillors on Quinte West City Council for the Ward of Sidney.


Further reading

There are several books about the Bata including: ''Uprooted and Transplanted'', the story of a family that immigrated to Canada and worked at the Batawa facility.


See also

* Batawa Ski Hill * List of planned cities


References

{{Coord, 44, 10, 20, N, 77, 35, 45, W, region:CA-ON_type:city_scale:30000, display=title Neighbourhoods in Quinte West Bata Corporation Company towns in Canada