Bancroft (Ontario)

Bancroft is a town of 4,000 people (2021) in a large rural area in eastern Ontario, 100 km north of Belleville. Much of the region around Bancroft is cottage country, with many snowmobile, hiking and ATV trails.

Understand
The town was once a centre for logging, trapping and mining; uranium mining began in the 1950s and ended in 1982. The town bills itself as the "mineral capital of Canada" and is part of the Canadian Shield.

History
By 1823, the government had purchased nearly two million acres of land from the Chippewa and Mississauga First Nations including a tract on the York River in Hastings County which had been established in 1792. The area was mapped in 1835 by explorer David Thompson.

The first family to build a cabin here, the Clarks in 1853, did so to take advantage of the fur trade. Early settlers James Cleak and Alfred Barker from England who arrived in 1855, settling on Quarry Lake. They got jobs in administration; Cleak opened a small store and Barker became the first postmaster. Over the years the settlement grew quickly; there were 89 families by 1868. Lumber companies arrived to remove timber.

Some of the earliest settlers were United Empire Loyalists, but from 1856 to 1861, most were from Ireland, fleeing the problems caused by the Great Famine (Ireland); many had farming experience and settled in the Township of Dungannon where the land was fertile. Most of the settlers were attracted to the area by the offer of free 100-acre (0.40 km²) parcels that had been advertised in Great Britain. Some of the residents also sold furs, obtained through trapping. The settlement had various names over the first years, York Mills, York River and York Branch; when the post office opened in 1861 it was called York River. A grist mill opened in 1865, gold was discovered in 1866 and other minerals would be discovered later. The first church and two schools were built in 1870. In 1879 the name of the settlement was changed to Bancroft by Senator Billa Flint, after the maiden name of his wife. Flint convinced tradesmen to move to the area and that helped to attract more settlers. A woolen mill began operating in 1884.

The Central Ontario Railway arrived in 1900, and in 1903, a second railway, the Bancroft, Irondale and Ottawa Railway, built a line through here. They were beneficial in transporting settlers and goods; the railway would operate here until 1982.

Uranium was discovered in 1949 and construction of the first mine (Faraday) started in 1952. The very large Madawaska Mine operated until 1982. Other minerals were also mined over the years. The closing of the mine caused some economic hardship.

By car
Bancroft is on Ontario Highway 62, midway between Belleville and Algonquin Provincial Park. From Peterborough, take Highway 28.

By plane
Bancroft is served by the Jack Brown Airport, an aerodrome (CNW3), with a 2,200 foot (670 m) crushed gravel runway, adjoining the town. It is freely available to the general public. Due to high terrain near both ends of the runway, pilots typically use a non-standard circuit, following the York River valley through the town for departing from runway 12 or landing on runway 30.

Do

 * The former Central Ontario Railway line to Trenton is now the . It passes through downtown at Station St, heading north to Maynooth, and south through the rural parts of Quinte-Northumberland.
 * The former Central Ontario Railway line to Trenton is now the . It passes through downtown at Station St, heading north to Maynooth, and south through the rural parts of Quinte-Northumberland.
 * The former Central Ontario Railway line to Trenton is now the . It passes through downtown at Station St, heading north to Maynooth, and south through the rural parts of Quinte-Northumberland.

Buy
See gemstones for background information,

Go next

 * Addington Highlands — a mostly rural area with some of the darkest skies in southern Ontario, attracting stargazers to public dark sky viewing areas.
 * Algonquin Provincial Park — about an hour away on Highway 62 N - Highway 127 N - Highway 60 W provides camping and hiking opportunities, beautiful forest and outdoor scenery. Portaging is quite common in this park. Algonquin has a rocky, treed and extensive undeveloped shoreline, a mixed forest and marshes full of birds and wildlife best seen by canoe. Trails through the park provide easy winter access by snowmobile.
 * Buckhorn, Lakefield and Stoney Lake - to the southeast, on the way to Peterborough, home to Petroglyphs Provincial Park.
 * Haliburton Highlands and the Kawarthas— lakes and rivers on this part of the Canadian Shield attract outdoor adventurers looking for a less crowded cottage experience than found in some of Ontario's other cottage country destinations.