|
|
The
Kenora region has been settled for thousands of years by local aboriginal
peoples who still live in the area. With the settlement of North
American by Europeans in the late 16th and early 17th. Centuries,
Kenora and area was eventually established as a fur trading centre
and a gateway to new lands in Western Canada. The first European
to see the area was a Frenchman, Jacques de Noyon in 1688, who visited
Lake of the Woods on an expedition into the wilds of what was them
uncharted territory. Other notable explorers were the French explorer
La Verendrye who built Fort St. Charles in 1732 and English surveyor
David Thompson who first visited in 1797.
|
|
In
1836 the world famous Hudson's Bay Company established a fur trading
post on the Winnipeg River. This post was later moved to the site
of the present City of Kenora in 1860. Settlement began in earnest
in the 1880's with the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The presence of the railway allowed Kenora's abundant raw resources
of timber, fur and fish to be sent to markets back east. Kenora
was also the destination for prospectors during two major gold rushes
between 1885 and 1899.
|
|
|
|
The
20th Century saw the events which led to Kenora as we know it today.
In 1936, a road to the City of Winnipeg Manitoba was completed.
Then in 1960 the Trans-Canada Highway going right through downtown
Kenora was opened. Kenora was established because of its location
on beautiful Lake of the Woods which in the early days, served as
a way of transporting timber to local sawmills and as a source of
power for two of Canada's largest flour mills. Today, Lake of the
Woods is still the main focus of Kenora, but in a different way.
It is the reason that literally thousands of American and Canadian
tourists visit the Kenora area to fish, hunt and enjoy our pristine
lakes and woodlands which we have here.
|
|
Kenora's
early economy depended on the wealth of it's natural resources such
as timber, fish, minerals and the fur trade. In it's early days,
the Town of Keewatin to the west was home to some of Canada's Largest
flour mills. These mills were an important part of the economy up
the the late 1960 when the last one burned down. Today, lumber and
fish are still important as Kenora is the home of Abitibi-Consolidated,
a large producer of pulp and paper products in Canada. Although
no commercial fishing is done on Lake of the Woods, sports fishing
has created a new economy that supports the service industries as
resorts, hotels, retail outlets and restaurants.
|
|
|
|
Many
events are held during the summer to cater to our tourists
and visitors which include celebrations for Canada Day (July
1st.), The Harborfest (August) and the Kenora Bass International
Fishing Tournament (August).
|
|
Today,
tourism is an important component in our local economy and the area
plays host to hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Sport
fishing, hunting, are key elements of this economy but water based
activities as swimming, boating, water skiing also attract many
family vacationers. Lake of the woods is the location of many summer
cottages, and camps for many people from Manitoba and the United
States who come here to enjoy the fishing, water sports, and our
spectacular wilderness and to some extent is still undisturbed in
many areas.
|
|
Snowmobiling,
skiing, and ice fishing are also beginning to play a major role
as a winter activities in the Kenora and North Western Ontario areas.
We boast some of the finest groomed snowmobiling trails in the province,
and many resorts, hotels, motels, and businesses are upgrading their
properties to accommodate these fast growing winter activities.
These have become an important seasonal boost to the local economy
during our Canadian winters.
|
|
|
