Madoc, Ontario (town)
Encyclopedia
Madoc is a community in the municipality of Centre Hastings
, Hastings County, Ontario
, Canada
. It is located at the junction of Highway 7
and Highway 62, southeast of Bancroft
, halfway between Toronto and Ottawa.
and grist mill here. It was briefly named Hastings but renamed Madoc Township
after the legendary Welsh
prince Madoc ap Owain Gwynedd
, credited by some with discovering North America
in 1170. When people traveled by horse and carriage during the 19th century from Toronto to Ottawa, Madoc was the halfway stop over, allowing the passengers and horses to rest. The community separated from the namesake township and remained an incorporated municipality until 1998.
The area has had a rich mining history. Gold
was discovered at nearby Eldorado in 1866. Fluorite
was extracted from the area during the 1930s and 1940s. The talc
mine, under the name Canada Talc (Cantalc), that was in production in Madoc for almost 114 years by 2010 is now shutting down. It is one of only three mines on the planet that has been in steady operation for more than one hundred years.
On January 25 1998, the Village of Madoc amalgamated with Huntingdon Township to form Centre Hastings. Madoc is the largest community in the municipality. Its post office services locals with lock boxes and rural routes.
In 2008, Madoc celebrated its 130th anniversary.http://www.shieldmedia.ca/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=11315&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1944&hn=shieldmedia&he=.ca
Madoc is home to a 24-hour Tim Hortons
, gas station and grocery stores. A new gas station and McDonald's is being built at Highway 62 and Highway 7, while an Ontario Provincial Police
station is located on Highway 7 just west of the Tim Hortons. The village also has a premier skateboard park with splash pad, rock climbing wall, canteen, night-time lighting and performing arts centre with music stage made from straw-bale construction.
A public boat launch at Moira Lake South of the town is a wonderful spot to launch your boat or to swim and sit on the quaint beach as well.
The Municipal building for Centre Hastings Township is behind the Petro-Canada gas station along Highway 62.
Centre Hastings, Ontario
The Municipality of Centre Hastings is a township in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the County of Hastings.-Communities:* Crookston * Fuller* Ivanhoe * Madoc* Moira* West Huntingdon * West Huntingdon Station -Demographics:...
, Hastings County, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is located at the junction of Highway 7
Ontario Highway 7
King's Highway 7, commonly referred to as Highway 7 and historically as the Northern Highway, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario...
and Highway 62, southeast of Bancroft
Bancroft, Ontario
Bancroft is a town located on the York River in Hastings County in the Canadian province of Ontario.- History :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...
, halfway between Toronto and Ottawa.
History
Madoc was originally named MacKenzie's Mills after Donald MacKenzie, who built a sawmillSawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
and grist mill here. It was briefly named Hastings but renamed Madoc Township
Madoc, Ontario
Madoc is a township in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in Hastings County.The township was named after legendary Welsh prince Madoc ap Owain Gwynedd, credited by some with discovering North America in 1170.-Communities:...
after the legendary Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
prince Madoc ap Owain Gwynedd
Madoc
Madoc or Madog ab Owain Gwynedd was, according to folklore, a Welsh prince who sailed to America in 1170, over three hundred years before Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492. According to the story, he was a son of Owain Gwynedd who took to the sea to flee internecine violence at home...
, credited by some with discovering North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in 1170. When people traveled by horse and carriage during the 19th century from Toronto to Ottawa, Madoc was the halfway stop over, allowing the passengers and horses to rest. The community separated from the namesake township and remained an incorporated municipality until 1998.
The area has had a rich mining history. Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
was discovered at nearby Eldorado in 1866. Fluorite
Fluorite
Fluorite is a halide mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It is an isometric mineral with a cubic habit, though octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon...
was extracted from the area during the 1930s and 1940s. The talc
Talc
Talc is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula H2Mg34 or Mg3Si4O102. In loose form, it is the widely-used substance known as talcum powder. It occurs as foliated to fibrous masses, its crystals being so rare as to be almost unknown...
mine, under the name Canada Talc (Cantalc), that was in production in Madoc for almost 114 years by 2010 is now shutting down. It is one of only three mines on the planet that has been in steady operation for more than one hundred years.
On January 25 1998, the Village of Madoc amalgamated with Huntingdon Township to form Centre Hastings. Madoc is the largest community in the municipality. Its post office services locals with lock boxes and rural routes.
In 2008, Madoc celebrated its 130th anniversary.http://www.shieldmedia.ca/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=11315&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1944&hn=shieldmedia&he=.ca
Amenities
The O'Hara sawmill, built by the O'Haras, is reputedly the only water-powered upright frame saw left in Ontario.Madoc is home to a 24-hour Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons Inc. is a Canadian fast casual restaurant known for its coffee and doughnuts. It is also Canada's largest fast food service with over 3000 stores nationwide. It was founded in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario, by Canadian hockey player Tim Horton and Jim Charade, after an initial venture in...
, gas station and grocery stores. A new gas station and McDonald's is being built at Highway 62 and Highway 7, while an Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
station is located on Highway 7 just west of the Tim Hortons. The village also has a premier skateboard park with splash pad, rock climbing wall, canteen, night-time lighting and performing arts centre with music stage made from straw-bale construction.
A public boat launch at Moira Lake South of the town is a wonderful spot to launch your boat or to swim and sit on the quaint beach as well.
The Municipal building for Centre Hastings Township is behind the Petro-Canada gas station along Highway 62.
Notable people from Madoc
People born here include:- Allan Roy DafoeAllan Roy DafoeDoctor Allan Roy Dafoe OBE was a Canadian obstetrician, best known for delivering and caring for the Dionne quintuplets, the first quintuplets known to survive early infancy.-Biography:...
, who delivered and cared for the Dionne QuintupletsDionne quintupletsThe Dionne quintuplets are the first quintuplets known to survive their infancy. The sisters were born just outside Callander, Ontario, Canada near the village of Corbeil.The Dionne girls were born two months premature... - Colin Scott DafoeColin Scott DafoeDoctor Colin Scott Dafoe was a Canadian surgeon, best known for his work with Marshall Josip Broz Tito's Partisans in Yugoslavia during the Second World War....
, who was best known for his work as a surgeonSurgeonIn medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
with Marshall Josip Broz Tito'sJosip Broz TitoMarshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
PartisansPartisans (Yugoslavia)The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
in YugoslaviaYugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
during the Second World War - John Weir FooteJohn Weir FooteJohn Weir Foote, VC , CD was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
, who was awarded the Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....