Sydenham, Frontenac County, Ontario
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Sydenham, named after Lord Sydenham, (2003 population approximately 1,000) is a community in Frontenac County, located in the municipality of South Frontenac. It is situated at the west end of Sydenham Lake and located north of Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Although located in a farming community, many of the area residents work in Kingston. Sydenham has more amenities than many of the smaller surrounding towns making it a hub for the region.
Geologically, Sydenham straddles the boundary of the St. Lawrence Lowlands (limestone) and the Canadian Shield (granite). Frontenac Provincial Park is found just north of Sydenham in the shield rock and sits atop the Frontenac Axis, a part of the shield that extends south and eventually crosses the St. Lawrence River. Mica mining was popular in the 19th century and many of the small, old, and abandoned mines can be found to this day. One area where mica mines can be found is nearby Gould Lake Conservation Area situated between Sydenham and Frontenac Provincial Park.
An annual canoe/kayak regatta is held on Sydenham Lake next to The Point, a popular local public beach, which was purchased by a local women's group in the mid-late 1800s and given back to the community so that there was always a public gathering point. Sydenham Lake drains westward into Millhaven Creek (originating from Gould Lake), which empties into Lake Ontario at Millhaven.
The former CPR/Grand Trunk Railway runs through the north end of town, which when the local section was completed, formed the first rail link between Toronto and Ottawa. The abandoned railway right of way is now part of the Trans Canada Trail, a footpath touching all 3 bordering oceans and every province and territory of Canada.
Sydenham once held the township offices for Loughborough Township, but after the neighbouring townships amalgamated, it is now the seat for the Township of South Frontenac. The postal code is K0H 2T0 and the telephone exchange is 376 in the 613 area code.
There are two schools in Sydenham that are a part of the public school system and students are bussed in from the neighbouring communities that do not have schools with high grade levels, typically grade 7 and up. They are Loughborough Public School (K-8) and Sydenham High School (9-12).
Many Christian faiths are represented by a church apiece: Grace United Church, St. Patrick's Catholic Church and St. Paul's Anglican Church.
Some historical institutions of Sydenham include Trousdale's General Store (2nd oldest store in Canada behind a Furniture store in Napanee, Ontario), Lindsay Funeral Home, and Lindsay Furniture Store.
[edit] Notable people
- Sydenham is the home to Dan Aykroyd and wife Donna Dixon on the land originally settled by his great-grandfather Samuel-Cuthbert Aykroyd in the mid 1800s.
- Hockey Legends Doug Gilmour and Kirk Muller both reside outside of the village of Sydenham.
