Trenton, Ontario

Trenton (2001 population 16,770 In 1923, the Trenton Film Plant was purchased by the Ontario government to house the studio and laboratory of the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau. Home to nearly half the population of Quinte West, Trenton is the largest community within the municipality, and is one of Ontario's largest unincorporated settlements.

Demographics

Economy

Canadian Forces Base Trenton/8 Wing, located on the east side of the town, is an important facility for the Royal Canadian Air Force's transport and search and rescue operations, and is Trenton's main employer.

Other large employers include Trenton Cold Storage, Norampac, Kruger, Mapco, Citipack, Jobsters, Pentair Thermal Controls, Nestlé, ElectroCables, Domtech, Global Med Inc., Mckesson Canada and DECA Cables.

Tourism also plays an important role in the economy, given Trenton's location as the southern entry point for the Trent–Severn Waterway.

From 1917 to 1920, The Parker Bros. Textile Mill was a movie studio, which dubbed Trenton "Hollywood North".

Trenton also has a local public transit system, run by Quinte Access. It runs an hourly schedule Monday to Friday and limited service on Saturday (no Sunday Service, check for holidays) with Chevrolet Arboc specialized buses with ramps for wheelchairs. Several private firms also provide dispatched taxi services.

Climate

Recreation and culture

thumb|upright|Trenton is the gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway

Trenton is located on the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail. Surrounding Trenton, there are numerous conservation areas, a YMCA, campsites, picnic grounds, and marinas. The area has nine golf courses, three ice hockey rinks, numerous soccer fields, bowling, many kilometres of walking trails, a dog park, curling rinks and baseball diamonds, amongst many other recreational activities. Trenton also serves as a gateway to Prince Edward County, south of the Bay of Quinte. This area is becoming increasingly well known for its vineyards, camping, beaches and boating.

The city is home to the Trenton Golden Hawks a junior hockey team that plays in the OJHL.

Trenton is the site of the National Air Force Museum of Canada. It features an original RAF Halifax Bomber, the 75th RCAF time capsule, a Lockheed CC-130E Hercules, and many other aircraft and exhibits. The museum is presently restoring an Avro Lancaster bomber.

Every summer CFB Trenton also is home to over one thousand Royal Canadian Air Cadets who attend two-week Familiarization Courses, three-week Introductory Specialty Courses, and six-week Advanced Specialty Courses, and has special staff positions for more senior cadets. These summer courses introduce the cadets to a military learning environment. Most camps here also go on trips to the airport, the Air Museum, and other relevant places.

Trenton is a hot spot for sport fishing. Popular freshwater fish in the Bay of Quinte and the Trent River include walleye (pickerel), bass, pike, perch, and mudcat. During particular times of the year, salmon and rainbow trout can be caught in the Trent River and in cold-water streams in the area. Each year in May, the Kiwanis Club of Trenton holds the Annual Live Release Fishing Derby, attracting thousands of sport fishermen from around North America with major prizes for tagged fish and heaviest weighed walleye and Northern pike.

In 1990, Canadian poet Al Purdy (who received the Order of Canada and the Governor General's award) published his only novel A Splinter In The Heart. It takes place entirely in Trenton and provides a historical look at the town. It mentions many of the landmarks in the city (Mount Pelion, The Bridges, Trent River, etc.) and documents the period of the town directly before and after the huge munitions plant explosion of 1918. Purdy also wrote a poem entitled "At the Quinte Hotel" about the strip club in Trenton called The Sherwood Forest Inn.

Another thing that Trenton is known for is its great swimming, fishing and boating. In addition it is known for being the capital of walleye fishing.

Education

The public school system is served by the Hastings & Prince Edward District School Board, and the separate school system is served by the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board as well as one school in the area that is part of the neighbouring school board, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board.

There are also the French public school boards: Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario and Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est.

Notable people

John Allore (1964–2023), actor and writer
Roy Bonisteel (1930–2013), journalist and the former host of the CBC Television program Man Alive
Mel Bridgman (born 1955), former National Hockey League player
William Bleasdell Cameron (1862–1951), survivor of the Frog Lake Massacre, author, journalist.
Graydon Carter, editor-in-chief, Vanity Fair
Henry Comstock (1820–1870), after whom Nevada's Comstock Lode was named
George Ferguson (1952–2019), former professional hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs
John Garrett (born 1951), former National Hockey League goalie and hockey announcer
Howard Graham (1898–1986), Commander of the Canadian Army (1955–1958)
Steve Graves (born 1964), former National Hockey League hockey player
Jayna Hefford (born 1977), member of Canada's gold medal women's hockey team at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics
Peter Knegt (born 1984), a writer, producer, and filmmaker
Elizabeth Manley (born 1965), 1988 Olympic figure skating silver medalist
Brenda Martin, a Canadian woman imprisoned in Mexico
Al Purdy (1918–2000), C.M., O.Ont., one of Canada's most renowned writers
Adam Sioui (born 1982), 2008 Olympic swimmer
Steve Smith (born 1963), former National Hockey League player
Marc Tessier-Lavigne (born 1959), neuroscientist, the 11th and current president of Stanford University
Tom Tilley, retired ice hockey defenceman
Peter Wintonick (1953–2013), documentary filmmaker

Notes

Rayburn, Alan. Place Names of Ontario. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. .