Pembroke, Ontario
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City Nickname: The Heart of the Ottawa Valley | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
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| City Information | |
| Established: | 1877 |
| Area: | City: 14.35 km² |
| Population:
(2001): |
13,490 |
| Population density: | 940.1/km² |
| Time zone: | Eastern: UTC -5 |
| Postal code span: | K8A |
| Local area code: | |
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Latitude: |
45º 49' N 77º 06' W |
| Elevation: | Airport: 460 m MSL |
| Government | |
| Mayor: | Ed Jacyno
List of mayors of Pembroke, Ontario |
| Governing body: | Pembroke City Council |
| Members of Parliament: | |
| Cheryl Gallant | |
| City of Pembroke | |
| 1(sc) According to the Canada 2001 Census. 2(gr) Geographic references.Template help Edit Template  |
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Pembroke (population 13,490 in the 2001 Canadian census) is a city at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley in eastern Ontario, Canada. Pembroke is the seat of Renfrew County.
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[edit] History
The first European settler in the area was Peter White, a veteran of the Royal Navy. He homesteaded at what is now Pembroke in 1828, and other settlers followed, attracted by the lumbering operations that were growing in the area.
A number of smaller settlements in the area were grouped together as a police village and renamed Pembroke in 1856. The town was named after Sidney Herbert, First Admiralty Secretary from 1841 to 1845 and son of the Earl of Pembroke. Pembroke was incorporated as a town in 1878 and as a city in 1971. It was named seat for Renfrew County in 1866, the same year the County Courthouse was constructed.
[edit] Economy
Historically, forestry has formed the backbone of the local economy and remains important today. Local timber products include lumber, plywood, veneer, poles and fibreboard. Other local manufacturing operations produce electrical appliances and office furniture. CFB Petawawa in nearby Petawawa and the Chalk River Laboratories of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited in Chalk River are also important regional employers.
Pembroke is an important service centre for the area and is the main commercial centre between North Bay and Ottawa. Tourism is also an important economic activity, aided partly by Pembroke's location on the Trans-Canada Highway.
During the early eighties, Pembroke fell into hard times and some considered it to be a failing city with little long term development. Combined with an aging population and little investment, it was difficult to sustain itself. In recent years, a turnaround has occurred with a greater military presence and an insurgence in US based businesses who have made their home in the Pembroke area providing growth and prosperity.
Picturesque and unpretentious, Pembroke provides all the amenities of a city, but with full access to some of the most pristine wilderness and clean waterways within any major population center. This fact is not lost on the planners who have invested in add on attractions similar to a series of murals in the downtown area depicting the history of the city, from steam and logging to nuclear energy.
Tourist attractions are growing, particularly in the music and festival aspect. Recently, Pembroke has seen a surge of musical talent. For example, two members of Sam Roberts' band are from Pembroke, as is the indie rock band Blinker the Star and, provide some of the best blues found in the Eastern Ontario region on Wednesday nights in the local downtown core. The two bands held a benefit concert for the Pembroke General Hospital on May 29, 2004.
[edit] Catholic Diocese of Pembroke
The historic St. Columbkille Cathedral in Pembroke is the seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of Pembroke, established by the Catholic Church in 1898. The diocese begins in the west in the outlying area of North Bay, continues east to Arnprior and south to Bancroft, and includes parishes on the Québec side of the Ottawa River from Témiscaming to Quyon.
At the time the diocese was established it contained 24 parishes, 36 priests, and a Catholic population of about 40000. By the year 2000, it had grown to 53 parishes, 75 priests, 54 schools, 3 hospitals, and a Catholic population of about 66000.[1]
[edit] Statistics
According to the Canada 2001 Census:
| Population: | 13,490 (-4.8 % from 1996) |
| Land area: | 14.35 km² |
| Population density: | 940.1 people/km² |
| Median age: | 42.3 (males: 40.0, females: 44.2) |
| Total private dwellings: | 5,730 |
| Mean household income: | $34,296 per person aged 15+ |
[edit] Pembroke media
Most broadcast media transmitting in the Pembroke area are rebroadcasters of stations from Ottawa, Arnprior or Toronto. CHVR-FM is the only broadcast station directly based in the Pembroke area itself. Pembroke also remains CHRO-TV's official city of license, although the station effectively operates out of studios in Ottawa.
[edit] Radio
- FM 92.5 - CBCD, CBC Radio One
- FM 96.7 - CHVR ("Star 96"), country music
- FM 99.7 - CKQB-1 ("The Bear"), active rock
- FM 100.7 - CHRI-2, Christian
- FM 104.9 - CIMY ("My FM"), adult contemporary
[edit] Television
- Channel 3: CBOT-6, CBC
- Channel 5: CHRO, A-Channel
- Channel 17: CHLF-13, TFO
- Channel 29: CICE-16, TVOntario
- Channel 47: CJOH-47, CTV
[edit] Print
The city's main daily newspaper is the Pembroke Daily Observer.
[edit] Trivia
- Pembroke is also the birthplace of comedian Tom Green, although Green's family subsequently moved to Ottawa.
- Pembroke hosts one of the campuses of Ottawa-based Algonquin College.
- Pembroke is also the site of Canada's first electric street light.
- The city is home to the annual "Old Time Fiddling and Step Dancing Festival" that happens Labour Day weekend at Riverside Park. There are often up to 1400 RVs parked there for the week preceding the event. Award-winning fiddler/step dancer April Verch is a Pembroke native.
- Pembroke is also host to the annual "Silver Stick Minor League Hockey Tournament". Silver Stick brings in a couple hundred children and youth on weekends in November and early December for regional qualifying games.
- Pembroke's Public Library was designed by architect Francis Sullivan, a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright. It is rumoured that Wright had considerable influence on the design of the building.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
