Petawawa, Ontario

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Petawawa is a town located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 15,500, Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County.

1 Geography
2 Transportation
3 Primary industries
4 History
5 Communities
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Latitude 45°54' North and Longitude 77°17' West

Petawawa is scenically located on the west bank of the Ottawa River where it's intersected by the Petawawa River. Situated across the Ottawa River from the Laurentian Mountains, and east of Algonquin Park, Petawawa is a favourite stop for outdoor enthusiasts, anglers, hikers, canoers, and kayakers.

[edit] Transportation

Ontario highway 17, Greyhound bus lines, and the nearby commercial airport in Pembroke all provide access to Petawawa.

[edit] Primary industries

Petawawa's primary employer is the Canadian Government. Most of Petawawa's residents work as civilian employees, or as members of the Canadian Forces at CFB Petawawa which is home to 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group.

Another major employer is Atomic Energy of Canada Limited located nearby in Chalk River.

[edit] History

The earliest settlement in the Petawawa area was inhabited by the Algonquin First Nation. In fact the name of Petawawa comes from a local Algonquian language meaning "where one hears a noise like this".

In the late 19th century the area was surveyed, and settled by Europeans from Scotland, Ireland and Germany. The land was unsuitable for crops, but the heavily forested surroundings were useful for logging. The Canadian military acquired land in the area in 1905, which later became Canadian Forces Base Petawawa. During this period it was used as an internment camp for German POWs during World War II. Later, it became home to the Canadian Airborne Regiment before it was disbanded in 1996. Today, it is one of Canada's largest ground forces base with members deployed to all corners of the world on various mission supporting the United Nations in peacekeeping or the War on Terror.

Petawawa was incorporated as a township in 1865 and as a village in 1961. On July 1, 1997, the village and township amalgamated to become the Town of Petawawa.