Almonte, Ontario
| Almonte | |
|---|---|
| Community | |
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 Almonte
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| Coordinates: 45°13′35″N 76°11′40″W / 45.22629°N 76.19452°WCoordinates: 45°13′35″N 76°11′40″W / 45.22629°N 76.19452°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
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| Province |
 Ontario
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| County | Lanark |
| Area | |
| • Land | 4.41 km2 (1.70 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 4,752 |
| • Density | 1,077.4/km2 (2,790/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC) |
| Postal code span | K0A 1A0 |
| Area code(s) | 613 |
Almonte (pronounced "AL-mont" as opposed to the original Spanish pronunciation of "al-MON-tay") is a former mill town located in Lanark County, in the eastern portion of Ontario, Canada. Formerly a separate municipality, Almonte is now a ward of the town of Mississippi Mills, which was created on January 1, 1998 by the merging of Almonte with Ramsay and Pakenham townships. Almonte is located 46 kilometres (29 mi) south-west of downtown Ottawa. Its population as of 2013 is about 5,000.
Almonte's first European-bred settler was David Shepherd, who in 1818 was given 200 acres (0.81 km2) by the Crown to build and operate a mill. The site became known as Shepherd's Falls. That name was never official however, and Shepherd sold his patent after his mill burned down. The buyer of the patent, Daniel Shipman, rebuilt the mill and the settlement became known as Shipman's Mills by about 1821.
The majority of Shipman's Mills' early settlers were Scottish and later Irish. A textile town almost from the start, by 1850 it was the home of seven busy woolen mills of Messrs B & W Rosamond. It was one of the leading centres in Ontario for the manufacture of woollen cloth. The construction of a railway line to Brockville stimulated the economic growth of Almonte.
In 1869, Almonte was a village with a population of 2000 situated on the Mississippi river in the Township of Ramsay, County of Lanark. It was a station of the Brockville and Ottawa Railroad. By the 1870 the town could boast thirty stores and forty other businesses.
During this time of rapid expansion the town changed its name from Shipman's Mills to Ramsayville, and then to Waterford. When in 1855 the newly created Canadian post office pointed out there was already a Waterford in Ontario, the town needed yet another name change.
Relations between the United States and Great Britain had been antagonistic since the Revolutionary War and later the War of 1812. Border wars between Mexico and the United States in the 1830s increased this antagonism. Mexican general Juan Almonte had fought honourably in these latter wars, and by 1853 had become Mexico's ambassador to the United States.
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Wikipedia