RCAF Station Edgar was part of the

Pinetree Line The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Run by North American Aerospace Defense Comm ...

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

stations and was located at

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, about northeast of

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

. Built in 1952, the site was home to the 31st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron and was operational in its intended role until 1964, when the complex was sold to the

provincial government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, o ...

of Ontario in November for

CA$ The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; ) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $. There is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviations Can$, CA$ and C$ are frequently used for distinction from other d ...

218,225 and was used as an Adult Occupational Centre for developmentally disabled or handicapped adults until its closure in 1999. The base consisted of 84 residences, two office buildings, a swimming pool, bowling alley, baseball diamond, hospital, church and a school. As a part of the

deinstitutionalization Deinstitutionalisation (or deinstitutionalization) is the process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services for those diagnosed with a mental disorder or developmental disability. In the 195 ...

program, the government began shutting down all its institutions and by 1999, the Edgar Adult Occupational Centre was completely shut down. The

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the State police, provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. The OPP patrols Provincial highways in Ontario, provincial highways and waterways; protects Government of Ontario, provincial government buil ...

then assumed use of the old recreational hall for instruction. They had been using the base off and on for police training and a number of other functions. In 1999, the government attempted to sell the 628,300 m² (155¼

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

) site t
Nishnawbe Homes
for $2.95 million, an organization dedicated to building respectable communities for first-nations people, but this deal fell through. From its 1999 closure until its 2011 demolition, the base sat mostly unused, except for occasional use by military and police as a training centre, including being the rehab centre for ''

Canada's Worst Driver 3 ''Canada's Worst Driver 3'' is the third season of the Canadian reality TV show ''Canada's Worst Driver,'' which aired on the Discovery Channel. As with previous years, eight people, nominated by their family or friends, enter the Driver Rehabilit ...

'' in 2007. Despite the site being idle, there is 24/7 security posted at the gatehouse making the site inaccessible to the public. In July 2011, a developer purchased the remainder of the property for $2,500 and by the fall of 2011, all the buildings had been demolished. Developer Miya Consulting plans to build 82 houses on the property. As of 2021, the land is being redeveloped and a new subdivision called "Eagles Rest Estates" is currently being built.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgar Royal Canadian Air Force stations