Parry Sound (2006 census
population 5,818) is a town in Central Ontario, Canada
, located on
the eastern shore of Georgian
Bay
. Parry Sound is located 160 km (100
miles) south of Sudbury
and
225 km (145 miles) north of Toronto
.
It is the
seat of Parry Sound District
, a popular cottage country
region for Southern Ontario
residents increasing the town's population to approximately 75,000
during the summer months. It is also the world's deepest
natural freshwater port.
History
During the early part of the 20th century, the area was a popular
subject for the many scenic
art works of
Tom Thomson and members of the
Group of Seven. There was a slight
decline in economic activity shortly after
World War I with
J.R.
Booth's construction of a rival town, Depot
Harbour
on nearby Parry Island
, but this setback was overcome through later
developments in tourism and commerce, and the accidental destruction by fire of
the entire town of Depot Harbour on August 14, 1945.
The body of water that gives the town its name was surveyed and
named by Captain
Henry Bayfield in
the 19th century, in honour of the Arctic explorer Sir
William Edward Parry.
In 1857, the modern
townsite was established near the Ojibwa
village of Wasaukwasene
("shining shore") at the mouth of the Seguin River. In the late 19th century,
rail service was established, making the
town an important depot along the rail lines to
Western Canada.
In 1916, a
cordite factory was established in the
nearby town of Nobel
for the
Imperial Munitions
Board. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, an
explosives and
munitions
factory was also built at Nobel, making Parry Sound an important
part of both the
First World War and
the
Second World War effort.
Culture
Parry Sound is host to many annual events including an
ATV jamboree, a
sailing regatta and a
classical music festival, the
Festival of the Sound.
It is the birthplace of hockey legend
Bobby
Orr, the namesake of the local community centre and the town's
own
Bobby Orr Hall of Fame.
Canadian actor
Don Harron's stage
character Charlie Farquharson remains one of the town's most
cherished personalities. Former Ontario premier
Ernie Eves also called the town home for many
years; he was the
MPP for the
Parry Sound—Muskoka
riding from 1981 through 2001.
The town is home to several cultural festivals, including the
Festival of the Sound
classical music festival, an annual
dragonboat race and a
buskers' festival which takes place as part of the
town's
Canada Day festivities. The
Charles W. Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts serves as the
principal performance venue during the Festival of the Sound, and
also hosts concerts, live theatre and other cultural events
throughout the year.
Sports and recreation
There are
several provincial parks in the
Parry Sound area, including Oastler Lake, Massasauga and Killbear
, as well as numerous provincial conservation reserve.
A
230-kilometre recreational trail, the Park-to-Park Trail, connects
Killbear with Algonquin Provincial Park
near Dwight
, with a
second proposed extension connecting to another site east of
Kearney
.
The town is home to an annual ATV Jamboree and a motorbike rally.
There are also guided ATV tours of the region's wilderness
throughout the year.
Parry Sound's Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary cares for injured and
orphaned animals, and has limited daily tourist hours as an
informational and interpretive centre for wildlife education.
There are several
golf courses located
in and near Parry Sound, including the Parry Sound Golf and Country
Club, the Seguin Valley Golf and Country Club, Deer Run Golf Course
and the Rocky Crest Golf Club.
Ice hockey
and
fishing are also popular recreational
sports in the area.
The Parry Sound coastline is home to the Georgian Bay Biosphere
Reserve, one of only 13 UNESCO sites in Canada. The eastern coast
of Georgian Bay where Parry Sound is located is known as the
"30,000 Islands" and is considered the world's largest freshwater
archipelago. It covers 347,000 hectares of shoreline ecosystem, and
over 100 species of animals and plants that are at risk in Canada
and Ontario, including unique reptiles and amphibians.
Sightseeing tours of the 30,000 Islands are offered by Georgian Bay
Airways, and the Island Queen and MV Chippawa cruise ships. The
area is also home to White Squall Outfitters, a sport outfitter
which offers
kayak and
canoe rentals and tours during the summer, as well as
winter sporting gear rentals during the winter.
Transportation

Harbour of Parry Sound
Although construction on
Highway
400 is continuing northward, with an extension to
Highway 559 scheduled to open in 2010,
Parry Sound is currently the northern terminus of Highway 400,
where it changes into
Highway
69. The former alignment of Highway 69 from Parry Sound
southerly to
Holmur now has the
street name
Oastler Park Drive
and serves as the main access road to
Oastler Lake Provincial
Park.
The
western termini of Highway
124, which extends easterly to Sundridge
, and Highway
518, which heads east to Kearney
, are both
located just outside Parry Sound's town limits.
Bus
service from Toronto
is available
by Ontario
Northland Motor Coach Services, the government-owned
transportation company, and buses arrive daily en route to
Sudbury. In addition, VIA
Rail (Crown corporation
passenger railway) serves the town with passenger rail service
twice a week, on its line between Toronto and Vancouver
.
The town
is served by the Parry Sound Area Municipal
Airport
and the Parry Sound Medical
Heliport, as well as numerous small water aerodromes:
The Big Sound Marina is a 120-serviced slip marina on Georgian Bay
for transient vessels up to 60 feet.
Forest fire protection history
The
Parry Sound Forest Fire District was founded by
Ontario's former
Department of Lands and Forests in 1922
(now the MNR) as one of 17 districts to help protect Ontario's
forests from fire by early detection from
fire towers. The headquarters for the district
were housed in town. It was the central location for 18
fire tower lookouts, including the Parry Sound
fire tower, which was erected in the same location as the modern
lookout tower at 17 George Street. In the 1970s all the towers had
been decommissioned as aerial fire fighting techniques were
employed.
Media
Radio
Television
Demographics
According to the 2006
Statistics
Canada Census:
- Population 2006: 5,818
- Population 2001: 6,124
- % Change (2001-2006): -5.0
- Dwellings: 2,781
- Area (km²): 13.33
- Density (persons per km²): 436.4
References
- The
Park-to-Park Trail
- Spring
Jam
- Parry
Sound Sportbike Rally
- Bear Claw
Tours
- Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary
- Parry
Sound Golf and Country Club
- Rocky Crest Golf Club
- Georgian Bay Airways
- M.V.
Chippewa
- White
Squall Outfitters
- Big
Sound Marina
- Statistic Canada Census for Parry Sound
(2006)
External links