Carleton Place is an Ottawa Valley town in eastern Ontario, and lies on the Mississippi River, which is used to generate hydroelectric power. It is the first town west of Ottawa on the #7 Trans-Canada Southern Ontario Route, about 23 km west of Stittsville (and the 417) 39 km west of the junction of 417 and 416 (to Prescott & Ogdensburg NY), and 52 km west of 417 at Nicholas St.
Carleton Place has a diversified industrial base and a population of around 10,000 people. The town has several historic sites and landmarks, including the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum.
Carleton Place History
The area was first inhabited by the Algonquin and the Mississauga First Nations people.
The first Europeans arrived in the area in the late 1700s. The first established settler in 1819 was Edmond Morphy, who built a small log cabin and farmed on the banks of the Mississippi River.
Carleton Place became an important industrial center, due to its location on the Mississippi River. This was a perfect location for several mills were established in the town, including a sawmill, a gristmill, and a woolen mill.
In 1859, the opening of the Brockville and Ottawa Railway connected to the rest of Ontario and to Montreal. This made it easier to transport goods and materials to and from Carleton Place. By 1870, and with a population of 1000, Carleton Place was incorporated as a town. Over the next few decades, the town attracted new industries and businesses.
The Mississippi River is important for the region’s electrical power. Mississippi River Power Generating Station was built in the early 1900s. The Galetta Power Generating Station dam was built in 1907 by the Galetta Power and Milling Company and sold to Ontario Hydro in 1929. In 1920 the High Falls Generation Station was built upstream of Dalhousie Lake. In 1995, the Appleton Generating Station dam was built at the original site of the Appleton Woolen Mill. The Enerdu generating Station was built at the site of the Wylie Flour Mill site in Almonte., just upstream of the Mississippi River dam. These dams together generate about 6.5 megawatts of power.
