Greater Napanee, Ontario

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Greater Napanee (2001 population 15,132) is a town in Lennox and Addington County in eastern Ontario, Canada and is approximately 40 kilometres west of Kingston.

The present municipality known as Greater Napanee was created by amalgamating the old Town of Napanee with the townships of Adolphustown, North and South Fredericksburgh and Richmond in 1999.

The area was originally settled by Loyalists in the late 18th century and was first incorporated in 1854. The original hamlet of Napanee was located at the site of a waterfall on the Napanee River, and was first known as Clarksville after Robert Clark who built a grist mill there. Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, practiced law in Napanee.

The town is home to the Allan Macpherson House, a historic property, and current-day museum to the past. It sits on the banks of the Napanee River, which runs through the town.

The largest employer is a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plant.

Area bodies of water are well known for their excellent fishing, notably Walleye.

The main streets are Dundas Street (east-west) and Centre Street (north-south). Dundas Street is part of former Provincial Highway Number Two, also known as Kingston Road, and travels through downtown from Toronto in the west and onward to Kingston in the east. Centre Street travels through the centre of the town from the modern commercial area close to Highway 401 to the downtown and onwards to rural townships south of the town.

1 Schools
2 Notable people
3 Sports
4 Shopping
5 Media
6 External links

[edit] Schools

Some students commute a short distance to Ernestown Secondary School to the east in Loyalist township, or Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School further east in Kingston.

[edit] Notable people

Singer Avril Lavigne lived here from the age of 5 and sang about the town in the song "My World" from her debut album Let Go. Canadian Football League star Leroy Blugh also resided here. Ryan Malcolm, the 2003 Canadian Idol winner, attended high school at Napanee District Secondary School.

[edit] Sports

The Napanee Raiders Jr. C ice hockey club plays its games out of the newly constructed Strathcona Paper Centre. Also popular in Napanee is softball, (played by both boys and girls in this town).

[edit] Shopping

The downtown area of Napanee is home a number of boutiques such as April's Image, October's Clothing, and Starlet. Gift stores include Hogarth's, Smitty's and Wallace's. Nearby are Len's Bakery, John's Restaurant, Louie's Restaurant and Café Blanche Dubois.

Giant Tiger can be found at the corner of Industrial Boulevard and Centre Street North, in the downtown core. The store features a 200-foot mural by Pierre Hardy. The community also includes a Walmart and a Canadian Tire. A No Frills grocery store is located in the Napanee Mall.

On the east end of town at the Palace Road exit of Highway 401 is the newly constructed 'Palace Village' that includes numerous small boutique and speciality shops, as well as the Smiling Wilderness restaurant.

A Flying J gas station and truck stop is located off Highway 401 on Highway 41.

Napanee is also the home of the famous "La Pizzeria" where people from all around the world stop by to sample Avril Lavigne's "favourite pizza".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Media

Napanee is served primarily by radio and television stations from the larger Kingston market. In 2007, a new radio station, CKYM, opened in Napanee on 88.7 FM.