The towns of Eastern Ontario were built on industry. Water-powered mills along the Rideau, Mississippi, Tay, and Clyde rivers created the economic base for communities that grew up around them. When those industries closed, the buildings often survived, too substantial to demolish and too specialized to easily repurpose. Today, they form one of the most impressive collections of industrial heritage in the province.
Smiths Falls
Smiths Falls has one of the most significant concentrations of former industrial buildings in Eastern Ontario. The town's location on the Rideau Canal, with the falls of the Rideau River providing water power, made it a natural industrial centre from the early nineteenth century onwards.
The Frost and Wood factory complex is the most prominent site. Founded in 1839, the company grew to become one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural equipment in Canada, exporting plows, reapers, and other farm machinery around the world. At its peak, the factory employed over 800 workers. The complex of brick and stone buildings stretches across several blocks of downtown Smiths Falls. Parts have been repurposed, but much of the complex remains underused, a monument to the town's industrial peak.
The former Hershey chocolate factory, which operated in Smiths Falls from 1963 to 2008, represents a more recent wave of industrial loss. Its closure cost the town hundreds of jobs and left behind a large factory building that has since been repurposed but remains a symbol of the economic challenges facing small Ontario manufacturing towns.
Almonte
Almonte, on the Mississippi River, was once known as the Manchester of Canada for its concentration of textile mills. The river's falls powered a series of woollen mills, cotton mills, and related industries that made the town one of the most industrialized in the region.
Several of Almonte's mill buildings survive and have been converted to new uses: apartments, shops, and restaurants. But the conversion has not always been complete, and walking through the town you can still see the scale of its industrial past in the massive stone and brick buildings that line the river. The Rosamond Woollen Company mill, built in 1867, is particularly impressive.
Eastern Ontario's industrial buildings were built of local limestone and brick, materials that have proven remarkably durable.
Perth and the Tay River
Perth, settled by Scottish immigrants in the early nineteenth century, developed a diversified industrial base around the water power of the Tay River. The town had distilleries, tanneries, woollen mills, and various small manufacturers. Several of these buildings survive, including the former Perth distillery and a collection of industrial buildings along the Tay Canal.
The town's industrial heritage is well preserved compared to some other Eastern Ontario communities, partly because Perth has been more successful at attracting heritage tourism and adaptive reuse. But even here, some industrial buildings remain empty or underused, their futures uncertain.
The Mississippi River Corridor
The Mississippi River, running from Mazinaw Lake to the Ottawa River, powered mills at Lanark, Almonte, Appleton, Carleton Place, and several smaller communities. Each of these mill sites has its own collection of remnants, from complete buildings to foundation walls to dam structures.
The industrial ruins along the Mississippi River are accessible from a number of county roads and trails. Some are in towns and can be observed from public streets. Others are in more remote locations, accessible by short walks from the nearest road. The former rail lines that served these mills provide additional access to some sites.
Visiting Industrial Sites
Former industrial sites present particular challenges for visitors. Many are on private property and are not open to the public. Some contain hazardous materials. And the scale of industrial buildings can make them more dangerous than other types of abandoned structures, with higher falls, heavier debris, and greater structural complexity.
The best approach is to start with the sites that have been preserved or repurposed, using them as a lens for understanding the region's industrial history. From there, roadside observation of abandoned industrial buildings can provide a sense of the scale and distribution of industrial activity across the region.