Madoc, Ontario (town)
Madoc /ˈmeɪdɒk/ is a community in the municipality of Centre Hastings, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the junction of Highway 7 and Highway 62, southeast of Bancroft, halfway between Toronto and Ottawa.
History
Madoc was originally named MacKenzie's Mills after Donald MacKenzie, who built a sawmill and grist mill here. It was briefly named Hastings but renamed Madoc Township after the legendary Welsh prince Madoc ap Owain Gwynedd, credited by some with discovering North America in 1170. When people traveled by horse and carriage during the 19th century from Toronto to Ottawa, Madoc was the halfway stop over, allowing the passengers and horses to rest. The community separated from the namesake township and remained an incorporated municipality until 1998.
The area has had a rich mining history. Gold was discovered at nearby Eldorado in 1866. Fluorite was extracted from the area during the 1930s and 1940s. The talc mine, under the name Canada Talc (Cantalc), that was in production in Madoc for almost 114 years by 2010 is now shutting down. It is one of only three mines on the planet that has been in steady operation for more than one hundred years.
On January 25, 1998, the Village of Madoc amalgamated with Huntingdon Township to form Centre Hastings. Madoc is the largest community in the municipality. Its post office services locals with lock boxes and rural routes.
In 2008, Madoc celebrated its 130th anniversary.
Amenities
The O'Hara sawmill, built by the O'Hara's, is reputedly the only water-powered upright frame saw left in Ontario.
Madoc is home to a 24-hour Tim Horton's, gas station and grocery stores. A new gas station and McDonald's was completed in 2012 and is located at Highway 62 and Highway 7, while an Ontario Provincial Police station is located on Highway 7 just west of the Tim Horton's. The village also has a premier skateboard park with splash pad, canteen, night-time lighting with bleachers and performing arts centre with music stage made from straw-bale construction.
An outdoor public swimming pool is located at 65 Queen Victoria St. W. in Madoc. It is run through the Municipality of Centre Hastings.[1]
The Lawnbowling Club in Madoc is located at Whytock Park.
A public boat launch at Moira Lake South of the town is a wonderful spot to launch your boat or to swim and sit on the quaint beach as well. An update as of Dec. 2013 is that the boat launch revitalization project was started and headed by Madoc Kiwanis Club and will feature a new boat launch, boat ramp and docking area and marshland boardwalk, safe swimming area and more parking.
The New Tri-Lakes Medical Centre opened its doors in May 2009 and started seeing patients in June. A New X-Ray clinic will be the next part of this fantastic health care facility serving Madoc, Marmora, Tweed and surrounding area.
The New Municipal building for Centre Hastings Township is behind the Mac's gas station along Highway 62 and across from the skate park.
Notable people from Madoc
People born here include:
- Allan Roy Dafoe, who delivered and cared for the Dionne Quintuplets
- Colin Scott Dafoe, who was best known for his work as a surgeon with Marshall Josip Broz Tito's Partisans in Yugoslavia during the Second World War
- John Weir Foote, who was awarded the Victoria Cross
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References
- ↑ "Madoc Outdoor Swimming Pool". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
Coordinates: 44°30′20″N 77°28′20″W / 44.50556°N 77.47222°W