Bancroft, Ontario
| Bancroft | |
|---|---|
| Town (lower-tier) | |
| Town of Bancroft | |
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| Motto: A Place for All Seasons | |
 Bancroft
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| Coordinates: 45°03′N 77°51′W / 45.050°N 77.850°WCoordinates: 45°03′N 77°51′W / 45.050°N 77.850°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
|
| Province |
 Ontario
|
| County | Hastings |
| Settled | 1852 |
| Incorporated | December 1904 (village) |
| Incorporated | 1999 (town) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Bernice Jenkins |
| • Council | Bancroft Town Council: Bancroft Ward, Dungannon Ward |
| • Federal riding | Hastings—Lennox and Addington |
| • Prov. riding | Prince Edward—Hastings |
| Area | |
| • Land | 229.56 km2 (88.63 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 3,880 |
| • Density | 16.9/km2 (44/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC−5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) |
| Postal Code | K0L |
| Area code(s) | 613 and 343 |
| Website | www.town.bancroft.on.ca |
Bancroft is a town located on the York River in Hastings County in the Canadian province of Ontario.
In 1853 the first pioneer family settled in the area, and over the next 15 years the settlement grew quickly, as another 88 families followed. The first families were United Empire Loyalists, and followed later by Irish settlers, who were attracted to the area by the offer of free 100-acre (0.40 km2) parcels. Originally called York Mills, it was later renamed to York Branch, The Branch, York River in 1861 (when it got its own post office named York River on May 1 ), and finally to Bancroft on 15 October 1879 by Senator Billa Flint, after the maiden name of his wife.
The place was first incorporated as a village in December 1904. In 1999, the Village of Bancroft merged with Dungannon Township to form the Town of Bancroft.
The town was once a centre for logging, trapping, and mining. Uranium mining created a boom in the 1950s and 60s, but the closing of the Madawaska Mine in 1982 caused some economic hardship.
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Located in Central Ontario, part of the Canadian Shield, Bancroft is well known in Canada as an excellent location for rockhounding. Bancroft styles itself as the "mineral capital of Canada" and holds an annual event in August called the "Rockhound Gemboree".
There is also a Mineral Museum in Bancroft dedicated to the area's storied mining history. There is little active mining going on today, although the talk of the Brock Project in early 2014 has spurred recent industrial activity in the area.
A popular location is a craggy lookout called Eagle's Nest, a short distance north of the town. This scenic cliff, with a height of over 60 m (200 ft), overlooks the York River valley, the town of Bancroft, and other densely forest-covered ridges that surround it. It was the location of one of Ontario's first ever heavy steel fire towers in the 1930s built by the former Dept. of Lands and Forests. 12 m (39 ft) icicles dangle from its largest and most massive cliff in the winter and conceals parts of it entirely. It is a popular spot for mountain climbers to practice ice climbing in the winter. However, the road to the top is steep and generally impassable in the winter. Another popular location is a series of abandoned Mineral caves/mines at Egan's Chute on Highway 28 north-east of Bancroft.
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Wikipedia