Sydenham, Frontenac County, Ontario
Encyclopedia
For other places called Sydenham, see Sydenham (disambiguation)
.
Sydenham, named after Lord Sydenham
, 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
.
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
.
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
.
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.
) 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 common in the 19th century and there are many abandoned mines in the area. One area where mica mines can be found is nearby Gould Lake
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 19th century 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.
Those who are not employed at the local schools or who are not running a local farm, are usually employed in Kingston. The three Christian
churches in Sydenham are Grace United Church, St. Paul's Anglican Church, and Sydenham Holiness Church. There is a Roman Catholic church in nearby Railton.
Many cottages and summer homes are located in the area, and tourism increases during the summer months. Visitor use at Gould Lake Conservation Area and Frontenac Provincial Park
also increases during the summer. The increase in visitors provides revenue to Sydenham.
Trousdale's, which is Canada's oldest, continuously open, same-family-run general store , is located in Sydenham.
Sydenham (disambiguation)
Sydenham is a suburb and ward of London, United Kingdom.Sydenham may also refer to:-Australia:* Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney* Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne** Sydenham railway line, Melbourne...
.
Sydenham, named after Lord Sydenham
Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham
Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham PC was a British politician and the first Governor of the united Province of Canada.-Background:...
, is a community in Frontenac County
Frontenac County, Ontario
Frontenac County, as defined by Statistics Canada, is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. The City of Kingston is included in the census division, but is politically separated from the County of Frontenac. It has a land...
, located in the municipality of South Frontenac
South Frontenac, Ontario
South Frontenac is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in Frontenac County. It was amalgamated in 1998 from the former townships of Bedford, Loughborough, Portland, and Storrington.-Communities:*Battersea* Bedford* Bedford Mills* Bellrock...
. It is situated at the west end of Sydenham Lake
Sydenham Lake
Sydenham Lake is a lake of Ontario, Canada to the east of the town of Sydenham....
and located north of Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
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
Trans Canada Trail
The Trans Canada Trail is a proposed corridor in Canada. The creation of the trail was announced as part of Canada's 125th anniversary celebrations in 1992. It is expected that when complete, it will be the longest recreational trail in the world...
.
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
South Frontenac, Ontario
South Frontenac is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in Frontenac County. It was amalgamated in 1998 from the former townships of Bedford, Loughborough, Portland, and Storrington.-Communities:*Battersea* Bedford* Bedford Mills* Bellrock...
.
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.
Geography
Geologically, Sydenham straddles the boundary of the St. Lawrence Lowlands (limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
) and the Canadian Shield
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...
(granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
). Frontenac Provincial Park
Frontenac Provincial Park
Frontenac Provincial Park is located near the town of Sydenham, north of the city of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The Government of Ontario has classified Frontenac Provincial Park as a natural environment park...
is found just north of Sydenham in the shield rock and sits atop the Frontenac Axis
Frontenac Axis
The Frontenac Axis is an exposed strip of Precambrian rock in Canada and the United States which links the Canadian Shield with the Adirondack mountain range in New York, an extension of the Laurentian mountains of Québec. The axis separates the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Great Lakes Lowlands....
, a part of the shield that extends south and eventually crosses the St. Lawrence River. Mica
Mica
The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...
mining was common in the 19th century and there are many abandoned mines in the area. One area where mica mines can be found is nearby Gould Lake
Gould Lake
Gould Lake is a lake of Ontario, Canada. Situated north of the town of Sydenham, Ontario in the Canadian Shield, Gould Lake is the headwaters of the Millhaven Creek system. In the 19th century and early 20th century, the area around Gould Lake was noted for its mica mines.It is under the...
situated between Sydenham and Frontenac Provincial Park.
An annual canoe/kayak regatta is held on Sydenham Lake
Sydenham Lake
Sydenham Lake is a lake of Ontario, Canada to the east of the town of Sydenham....
next to The Point, a popular local public beach, which was purchased by a local women's group in the mid-late 19th century 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
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
at Millhaven.
Culture, recreation and economy
The residents of Sydenham utilize a beach that it located in the east end of the town on Sydenham Lake. Locals call it "The Point" because the beach is actually a Peninsula located on the lake.Those who are not employed at the local schools or who are not running a local farm, are usually employed in Kingston. The three Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
churches in Sydenham are Grace United Church, St. Paul's Anglican Church, and Sydenham Holiness Church. There is a Roman Catholic church in nearby Railton.
Many cottages and summer homes are located in the area, and tourism increases during the summer months. Visitor use at Gould Lake Conservation Area and Frontenac Provincial Park
Frontenac Provincial Park
Frontenac Provincial Park is located near the town of Sydenham, north of the city of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The Government of Ontario has classified Frontenac Provincial Park as a natural environment park...
also increases during the summer. The increase in visitors provides revenue to Sydenham.
Trousdale's, which is Canada's oldest, continuously open, same-family-run general store , is located in Sydenham.
Education
- Loughborough Public schoolLoughborough Public schoolLoughborough Public School is the greatest school near Kingston, ON, and has won the "Best School In Kingston Area" award. It is also part of the Limestone District School Board, and is centrally located within Sydenham, Ontario. The school is only seconds away from Sydenham High School, where...
(K-8) - Sydenham High School (9-12)
Notable people
- Actor Dan AykroydDan AykroydDaniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
and his wife Donna DixonDonna DixonDonna Dixon is an American actress.Donna Dixon was born in Alexandria, Virginia; her father, Earl Dixon, owned a club on U.S. 1, called "Hillbilly Heaven." She is a 1975 graduate of Groveton High School and attended The George Washington University...
reside on the land originally settled by his great-grandfather Samuel-Cuthbert Aykroyd in the mid-19th century.
- National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
players Doug GilmourDoug GilmourDouglas Robert Gilmour is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who is the current general manager of the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League . During his National Hockey League career, Gilmour played for 7 NHL clubs: the St...
and Kirk MullerKirk MullerKirk Christopher Muller is a retired professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League for 19 seasons from 1984–85 until 2002–03...
both reside outside of the village of Sydenham. Former Boston Bruins goaltender George AbbottGeorge Abbott (ice hockey)George Henry Abbott was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played in one National Hockey League game for the Boston Bruins during the 1943–44 NHL season....
was born in Sydenham on August 3, 1911.
- A number of musicians and artists who are well known in the area have come from, or have lived in the village of Sydenham. These include folk singing group, Night Sun, the bluegrass band The Abrams Brothers , Jason Silver and Celtic music group The Shores of Newfoundland . Visual artists Daniel HughesDaniel HughesDaniel Hughes may refer to:*Daniel Hughes , conductor on the Underground Railroad*Danny Hughes , Australian rules footballer*Daniel Hughes , Australian rules footballer...
and Shayne Dark also live in the Sydenham area.
- John BabcockJohn BabcockJohn Henry Foster "Jack" Babcock was, at age 109, the last known surviving veteran of the Canadian military to have served in the First World War and, after the death of Harry Patch, was the conflict's oldest surviving veteran...
, Canada's last WWIWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veteran.