Deep River, Ontario

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Deep River is a town in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. It is located along the Ottawa River (see also Ottawa Valley), about 200 kilometres north-west of Ottawa on the Trans-Canada Highway . Deep River is opposite the Laurentian Mountains.

As of the 2001 census the town had a population of 4,135.

The primary industry centres around research at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited in nearby Chalk River, Ontario. Technically, the plant belongs to the municipality of Deep River. The property taxes account for the majority of Deep River's budget.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Recreation, Arts & Culture
4 Education
5 Media
6 Movie Trivia
7 Neighbouring municipalities
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] History

A planned community, Deep River was constructed in 1945 by the federal government for employees at the nearby nuclear research site at Chalk River. It remains a residential community whose economy is rooted in the Canadian nuclear industry.

The town has occasionally been featured in the national media. The 1958 article, "Deep River: Almost the Perfect Place to Live" by Peter Newman for Maclean's portrays Deep River's earliest days and demographic, which continued to characterize the town until at least 2000 when that generation began to retire. Several articles penned by area residents piece together the community's unique history.

[edit] Geography

Deep River is located at a Latitude of 46°06' North and Longitude 77°30' West. The area of the town is 50.87 square kilometres. The town sits on the section of the Ottawa River referred to as La Rivière Creuse (the Deep River) by 17th-century French explorers (which is why its name is Deep River), and which later was at the heart of Canada's 19th-century timber trade.

[edit] Recreation, Arts & Culture

Deep River boasts many active clubs. Among the numerous community accomplishments is the creation of the Deep River Symphony Orchestra, formed in 1951, making Deep River one of the smallest towns(pop. 4000 as of 2006) to have a Symphony Orchestra. Another popular event is Summerfest, a good-sized celebration held once every two years, hosting many local artists. Deep River is generally known to have picturesque scenery and good hiking in the hills across the Ottawa River. Deep River also has a community pool, and a Library.

[edit] Education

Deep River is home to four schools, for students from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12:

T.W. Morison Public School - for students JK to grade 4
Keys Public School - no longer "exists", used to house students JK to grade 8. At the end of the 2004-2005 school year, Keys Public School was officially closed down due to budget cuts in the school board. The Junior half of Keys (grades 5 and 6) was moved to Morison Public School, and the Intermediate half (grades 7 and 8) joined Mackenzie, separated by name only (though Mackenzie students are not allowed in the Keys Wing). At the time of this writing, it was predicted Morison will close down at the end of the 2006-2007 school year (for same above mentioned reasons) and would join Mackenzie High School as well, but is now open indefinitely for an unspecified length of time.
Mackenzie High School - for students grades 9 to 12
St. Mary's Catholic School - for students JK to grade 8

[edit] Media

Deep River's venerable weekly, The North Renfrew Times, has been published by The Deep River Community Association since the Town's earliest days.

[edit] Movie Trivia

Deep River, Ontario, is mentioned by name in Mulholland Drive (2001), David Lynch's surreal, award-winning film about a young actress struggling to cope in Hollywood, starring Naomi Watts.

DIANE I'm from Deep River, Ontario. A small town.

Deep River is also used by Lynch as the name of the apartment block occupied by Isabella Rossellini's character in another famous film of his, Blue Velvet (1986). Of course, these mentions may not refer to the actual town, but only to suggest that deep things happen in Deep River. In both of those films, the heroine is caught in mysteries and horrors far beyond their own comprehension.