Napanee

Napanee, a community in eastern Ontario, is the county seat of Lennox &amp; Addington County.

Understand
This article covers a broad rural area between Belleville and Kingston. The Greater Napanee Area is a population 17,000 town (in 2021) comprised of all the communities historically in the former Lennox County (Napanee, Adolphustown, North and South Fredericksburgh, and Richmond).

History
The first recorded settlement in the area of Greater Napanee is Ganneious, an Iroquois village, settled temporarily by the Oneida from approximately 1660 to 1690. The village was located on or near the Hay Bay area and is one of seven Iroquois villages settled on the northern shores of Lake Ontario in the 17th century. The exact location of the village has not been determined.

The area was settled by United Empire Loyalists fleeing persecution in the United States in 1784. The first Loyalists settlers landing spot (in Adolphustown) and site of the first Loyalist cemetery in the area has been preserved by the Loyalists.

The town developed at the site of a waterfall, the head of navigation, on the Napanee River where early industry could use the power potential of the river. The river transported logs from the interior north of the town. Sawmilling, gristmilling and other farm service industries were established. Gibbard Furniture (1835-2010) was at one point Canada's oldest furniture factory, operating beside the Napanee River for 173 years.

Napanee was first known as Clarksville after Robert Clark, who built a grist mill there. The town's most famous resident was popular musician Avril Lavigne.

Visitor Information

 * Town of Greater Napanee

By car
Napanee is on Highway 401 (exits 579 and 582), about 2½ hours east from downtown Toronto and half an hour west of Kingston. The town's original business district was at the crossroads of Highways 2 and 41 (Dundas and Centre, respectively); 41 leads to Pembroke and the Trans-Canada Highway, the 401 bypasses 2 in the Windsor-Quebec corridor.

By train

 * Operates between Ottawa and Toronto including stops in Smiths Falls, Brockville, Gananoque, Kingston, Napanee, Bellevile, Trenton, Cobourg, Port Hope, and Oshawa. Operates daily.
 * Operates between Ottawa and Toronto including stops in Smiths Falls, Brockville, Gananoque, Kingston, Napanee, Bellevile, Trenton, Cobourg, Port Hope, and Oshawa. Operates daily.

Get around
Limited weekday transit service is available from Deseronto Transit, connecting Deseronto, Belleville, and Napanee. Rides must be booked in advance by phone,.

There are two local taxis, Napanee Cab and Mike's Taxi.

See
Napanee's history dates to the pre-Confederation era and the United Empire Loyalists. There is a museum near the county hall and parkland along the Napanee River east of downtown.

Do
The Loyalist Parkway (Highway 33) passes within the town limits, at Adolphustown. This region is waterfront cottage country with farms at which apples and strawberries can be gathered in-season. The best time for strawberries is traditionally early summer, before the Canada Day (July 1) long weekend. A free ferry takes Highway 33 westward across the Bay of Quinte to Prince Edward County.

Buy
Most established, independent businesses are on the original main street near the highway 2/41 crossroads. These highways are now county roads. Newer development has followed Centre Street (#41) northward to the 401 offramp, although offerings in this section tend to be dominated by national chains and similar in content to that in other towns across Ontario.



Eat

 * Various national chains (KFC, Tim Horton's, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, Dairy Queen, Mr. Sub, McDo, Subway, Shoeless Joe's, Denny's, A&W) are located on or near Centre Street at 401 (exit 579).

Sleep
There are two groups of motels in the town:

Highway 2 (Dundas Street) west of town, three motels:

Highway 41 (Centre Street) north of the 401 (exit 579) offers two motels. There is also a Hampton Inn one block south of the 401:

Bed and breakfast accommodation is also available locally.

Connect
Wi-fi is available in the public library, at the Harvey's and McDonald's hamburger stands (both Centre Street south of the 401 exit 579) and at ONroute highway 401 rest stops (near Odessa).

Adolphustown
A rural area on the Lake Ontario shore, west of Bath. A car ferry on Highway 33 links Adolphustown to Prince Edward County year-round. Like Prince Edward County, this region is agricultural and produces apples, strawberries and grapes.

Bath
A lakeside village established 1784 on the north shore of Lake Ontario, between Kingston and Adolphustown. Once a busy shipping port and centre of commerce, its role diminished as the York Road (1817), Grand Trunk Railway (1856) and the 401 freeway (1964) all bypassed the village in favour of Napanee. The Tragically Hip (a Canadian rock band) maintained studio space in the village.

Odessa
A small village less than a mile across, built on a mill creek, midway between the centre of Napanee and Kingston.

Wilton
A tiny hamlet 8 km north of Odessa. Wilton Pottery studio used to operate in the former limestone public schoolhouse; its husband-and-wife owners have now "retired from being full time, career potters". Wilton has a horse tack shop in a 200-year old feed mill and a cheese factory whose wares are carried by local grocers for miles around.



Go next

 * Prince Edward County — one of Canada's wine regions, and home to some of Ontario's finest sandy beaches at Sandbanks Provincial Park.