Eugenia, Ontario
| Eugenia | |
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Eugenia Falls
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 Eugenia
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| Coordinates: 44°18′42″N 80°31′08″W / 44.31167°N 80.51889°WCoordinates: 44°18′42″N 80°31′08″W / 44.31167°N 80.51889°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| County | Grey |
| Municipality | Grey Highlands |
| Time zone | Eastern Time Zone (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern Time Zone (UTC-4) |
| Area code(s) | 519, 226 |
Eugenia is a small community in the municipality of Grey Highlands, Grey County, in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, located just north of the community of Flesherton. An unincorporated hamlet of Artemesia Township for most of its history, Eugenia was amalgamated into the Grey Highlands in 2001. Due to nearby Lake Eugenia, Eugenia Falls, the Bruce Trail and the ski resorts of the Beaver Valley, it has become a popular tourist and cottage destination. The nearby Eugenia Power Station has the highest head of water of any hydroelectric generator in Ontario, and has provided a significant amount of electricity to the provincial grid for a century.
The area was surveyed and opened to settlement in the 1850s. Both the local river and the valley into which the river plunged were named for the plentiful beaver in the area. The hamlet of Eugenia, named after Princess Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III, was established near the 25 metres (82 ft) waterfall.
In 1852, prospectors were also attracted to the area by rumours of gold, but after a fair-sized gold rush, it was discovered that the "gold" was only pyrite, or fool's gold.
By 1870, four mills operated on the Beaver River, and the growing community of 200 also featured several stores, Presbyterian and Methodist churches, a school, a carriage factory, a blacksmith, a cobbler and a carpenter.
However, in 1873, the Toronto, Grey & Bruce Railway bypassed the Beaver Valley area. Further development stagnated, and the hamlet's population never reached the size necessary for incorporation.
In 1893, William Hogg, a local businessman, built the area's first electrical generator on the river below the falls. Using a paddlewheel to generate 70 kW from a 6 metres (20 ft) head of water, the station barely produced enough electricity to meet the needs of Eugenia and Flesherton.
At the turn of the 20th century, a group of businessmen, sensing profits to be made from the lucrative electrical industry, formed the Georgian River Power Consortium, and devised a plan to build a generator in the Beaver Valley and divert water from the Beaver River through pipes to the station. However, investors were skeptical, since this would require redirecting the river more than 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). Well-known power station engineer Hugh L. Cooper surveyed the site for the consortium, but reported that the project would be uneconomical because the Beaver River's capacity varied seasonally. Undeterred, the consortium hired a second engineer to survey the site and devise a plan for a reservoir. However, in 1912, the provincial government took control of all hydroelectric projects, including the Eugenia project, under the auspices of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission.
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