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Penetanguishene, Ontario
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Penetanguishene (pronounced: [penəˈtæŋgwəˌʃi:n] listen ) is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual (French and English) community has since grown to 9,354 (2006 Statistics Canada), an increase of 12.5% from 2001 (8,316).
The name Penetanguishene comes from the Ojibwa language meaning "place of the white rolling sands".
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As early as AD 800 , the Huron settled in semi-permanent villages in the area. Étienne Brûlé was the first European to set foot in the Penetanguishene area, some time between 1610 and 1614.
In 1793, John Graves Simcoe visited the area and saw Penetanguishene's potential as a naval base to maintain warships to protect the newly-developed northwesterly trade and exploration route. In 1817, naval units from Michilimackinac and Schooner Town (near modern-day Wasaga Beach) were consolidates at Penetaguishene. However, because of treaty limitations with the U.S. that limited both countries' naval power on the Great Lakes, the British fleet was left to rot in the harbor. Small craft, however, were headquartered in Penetanguishene for the exploration and mapping of the Great Lakes' coastline. In 1828, the main British military establishment on the Upper Lakes moved from Drummond Island to Penentanguishene. Families of Metis fur traders who had moved with the British from Michilimackinac to Drummond Island after the War of 1812 moved to Penetanguishene and settled in the town and the surrounding area. Although the naval base was closed in 1834, the military base remained until 1856.
In the 1840s, families from Quebec (mainly the area immediately east of Montreal), attracted by promises of cheap and fertile land, joined the French-speaking Drummond Island settlers already in the area. Later, as the logging industry began to develop, more settlers arrived and Penetanguishene became the local market and meeting place for these individuals. Many of Penetanguishene's families today are descended from these Quebecois settlers that arrived in the 1800s, giving the town a marked bilingual culture.
The historic naval and military base (Discovery Harbour) near Penetanguishene is open to visitors, and at one time offered trips in the two reconstructed sailing ships from the 1812 period. While this is no longer permitted, the sailing ships still remain in the harbour.
Penetang is now one of the departure points for Georgian Bay's 30,000 Island boat tours, which leave daily from the town's main dock.
Penetanguishene has a significant concentration of Franco-Ontarians, and is one of only three communities in Southern Ontario where the population of francophones exceeds the provincial average of 5 percent (the other two being Welland and Lakeshore).
The town is also home to the province's last remaining Protestant Separate school board, as well as the Junior C Hockey Penetang Kings and the Penetang-Midland Coach Lines (PMCL).