Barry's Bay, Ontario

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Former railway station, now a tourist information office at Barry's Bay.

Barry's Bay is a community in the township of Madawaska Valley, Ontario, Canada, located two hours west of Ottawa, with a population of approximately 1,100 people. The town, which was officially incorporated in 1933, was the deathplace of Janusz Żurakowski, a famous Polish aviator who tested aircraft. A memorial was created in his honor, which includes a statue of himself and a sized-down model of the Avro Arrow, arguably the most famous aircraft he's known for testing. It can be accessed from Ottawa on the Trans-Canada Highway, then turning onto route 60 at Renfrew. Barry's Bay was also the Central Canada finalist in the 2006 CBC Hockeyville competition.

[edit] History

This area of Renfrew County (Sherwood Township), was first settled in the 1860s, along with other communities on the Opeongo Line. The first permanent dwelling at what is now Barry's Bay was built in 1879. It also served as a stopover for travelers, lumbermen and settlers coming into this frontier of the county. Settlement of the village followed the construction of the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway, built through the area in 1894.