Fort Frances

Fort Frances is a town in, and the seat of, Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population as of the 2016 census was 7,739. Fort Frances is a popular fishing destination. It hosts the annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.

Fort Frances
Town (single-tier)
Town of Fort Frances
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): 
Fort
Motto(s): 
Industry and perseverance
Fort Frances
Coordinates: 48°37′N 93°24′W
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
DistrictRainy River
Incorporated1903
Government
 • MayorJune Caul
 • Federal ridingThunder Bay—Rainy River
 • Prov. ridingKenora—Rainy River
Area
 • Land25.51 km2 (9.85 sq mi)
Population
 • Total7,739
 • Density303.4/km2 (786/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Fort Francians
Time zoneUTC−6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Forward sortation area
P9A
Area code(s)807
Websitewww.fort-frances.com

Located on the international border with the United States where Rainy Lake narrows to become Rainy River, it is connected to International Falls, Minnesota by the Fort Frances–International Falls International Bridge. The town is the fourth-largest community in Northwestern Ontario after Thunder Bay, Kenora and Dryden. The Fort Frances Paper Mill was formerly the main employer and industry in the town until its closure in January 2014. New Gold, a Canadian mining company, acquired mineral rights to the area in 2013. The Rainy River mine commenced processing ore on September 14, 2017 and completed its first gold pour on October 5, 2017.[3]

History
Fort Frances courthouse

Fort Frances was the first European settlement west of Lake Superior and was established by French Canadian Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, first commander of the western district. In 1731, he built Fort Saint Pierre near that spot as support for the fur trade with native peoples. In 1732, his expedition built Fort Saint Charles on Magnuson's Island on the west side of Lake of the Woods. After some time, Fort Saint Pierre fell out of use.[4]

In 1817, following the War of 1812 and the redefinition of borders between Canada and the United States, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) built a fort here. In 1830 HBC Chief Factor John Dugald Cameron[5] named the fur trading post after Frances Ramsay Simpson, the 18-year-old daughter of a London merchant,[6] who had married earlier that year in London, George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, who would visit the fort many times. In 1841 she became Lady Simpson after George Simpson was knighted, and she died in 1853 at Lachine, Quebec.[7]

Incorporated in 1903, the town held a big centennial celebration in 2003.

The main employer was a pulp and paper mill established in the early 1900s. It had numerous owners over the years, notably Edward Wellington Backus. Now owned by Resolute Forest Products, the mill employed about 700 persons until its closure in 2014.

On June 25, 1946, the town was struck by a tornado, which caused major damage and struck a week after the deadly Windsor tornado.

On August 25, 2013, the town hosted the final pitstop in the Kraft Celebration Tour by receiving the most votes out of all 20 communities

On January 14, 2014, Resolute Forest Products announced that it planned to stop operations of the final paper machine and close out its operations in Fort Frances by the end of the month.

On December 13, 2014, Tim Hortons filmed a commercial in Fort Frances. The commercial, which dubs Fort Frances "one of the coldest places in Canada", was shot at the local Tim Hortons. In the days leading up to the filming, yarn was seen covering trees, benches, etc. Workers had spent the night covering the interior of the restaurant with yarn and building a giant toque on the roof. For the day, the coffee was free.

In August 2015 the Seven Generations Education Institute hosted the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium's (WINHEC) Annual General Meeting at the Nanicost Grounds for members attending from all over the world.

Transportation

There are three airports in the area, one of which is in the United States. The two local airports are for general aviation and other is a privately owned floatplane base.

Fort Frances Municipal Airport is served by only one company, Bearskin Airlines, with flights to and from Kenora, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, and Dryden. Falls International Airport has flights to Minneapolis–Saint Paul by Delta Connection.

Ontario Highway 11 and Ontario Highway 71, the latter of which ends in Fort Frances, are the two major highways in the community. Both are part of the Trans-Canada Highway. The town is connected to Kenora via Highway 71, while Highway 11 provides connections to Devlin, Emo, and Rainy River to the west, and Atikokan to the east.

Canadian National Railway travels into Fort Frances with freight traffic only and travels across the Fort Frances-International Falls International Bridge, over the Rainy River, into the US.

Train, truck and car traffic to and from the United States traverses the International Bridge.

Fort Frances Transit operated until 1996, and Fort Frances Handi-Van Transit is a provincially-funded service run by the Town of Fort Frances. Caribou Coach Transportation Company Incorporated cancelled its bus route to and from Thunder Bay in October 2017. The route was once served by Greyhound Canada. North Air operates a taxi service from Fort Frances whose service area includes the International Falls, Minnesota area and airport.

Climate

Fort Frances experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb), with cold winters and warm summers. Temperatures beyond 34 °C (93.2 °F) have been measured in all five late-spring and summer months. Summer highs are comparable to Paris and the Los Angeles Basin coastline in California, whereas winter lows on average resemble southern Siberia and polar subarctic inland Scandinavia.

Fort Frances, along with Atikokan hold the record for the highest temperature ever recorded in the province of Ontario. On 13 July 1936 the mercury climbed to 42.2 °C (108.0 °F).

Climate data for Fort Frances Municipal Airport, 1981−2010 normals, extremes 1892−present[lower-alpha 1]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 10.0
(50.0)		 13.0
(55.4)		 26.4
(79.5)		 31.7
(89.1)		 35.0
(95.0)		 40.0
(104.0)		 42.2
(108.0)		 35.6
(96.1)		 35.6
(96.1)		 31.1
(88.0)		 22.8
(73.0)		 13.9
(57.0)		 42.2
(108.0)
Average high °C (°F) −9.5
(14.9)		 −5.3
(22.5)		 1.1
(34.0)		 10.5
(50.9)		 18.0
(64.4)		 22.6
(72.7)		 25.3
(77.5)		 24.0
(75.2)		 18.3
(64.9)		 10.2
(50.4)		 0.5
(32.9)		 −6.8
(19.8)		 9.1
(48.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) −15.3
(4.5)		 −11.4
(11.5)		 −4.8
(23.4)		 4.0
(39.2)		 11.2
(52.2)		 16.3
(61.3)		 18.9
(66.0)		 17.7
(63.9)		 12.5
(54.5)		 5.2
(41.4)		 −3.6
(25.5)		 −11.6
(11.1)		 3.3
(37.9)
Average low °C (°F) −21.0
(−5.8)		 −17.4
(0.7)		 −10.6
(12.9)		 −2.5
(27.5)		 4.4
(39.9)		 9.9
(49.8)		 12.5
(54.5)		 11.3
(52.3)		 6.7
(44.1)		 0.1
(32.2)		 −7.6
(18.3)		 −16.5
(2.3)		 −2.6
(27.3)
Record low °C (°F) −45.0
(−49.0)		 −45.5
(−49.9)		 −37.3
(−35.1)		 −28.5
(−19.3)		 −11.1
(12.0)		 −5.0
(23.0)		 0.6
(33.1)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 −7.8
(18.0)		 −16.7
(1.9)		 −38.0
(−36.4)		 −42.0
(−43.6)		 −45.5
(−49.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 34.7
(1.37)		 21.9
(0.86)		 26.3
(1.04)		 41.2
(1.62)		 77.7
(3.06)		 119.0
(4.69)		 96.7
(3.81)		 91.6
(3.61)		 82.9
(3.26)		 56.5
(2.22)		 46.0
(1.81)		 31.9
(1.26)		 726.3
(28.59)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 0.0
(0.0)		 2.1
(0.08)		 12.1
(0.48)		 30.9
(1.22)		 77.4
(3.05)		 119.0
(4.69)		 96.7
(3.81)		 91.6
(3.61)		 82.6
(3.25)		 53.3
(2.10)		 16.4
(0.65)		 2.7
(0.11)		 584.7
(23.02)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 34.7
(13.7)		 19.8
(7.8)		 14.2
(5.6)		 10.3
(4.1)		 0.25
(0.10)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.31
(0.12)		 3.3
(1.3)		 29.7
(11.7)		 29.2
(11.5)		 141.6
(55.7)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 8.1 6.4 6.1 7.3 13.4 13.3 12.9 11.7 12.6 11.6 8.1 8.0 119.4
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 0.0 0.64 2.0 6.0 13.4 13.3 12.9 11.7 12.6 10.5 2.5 0.58 85.9
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 8.1 6.0 4.2 2.0 0.12 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.08 1.5 6.2 7.5 35.6
Source: Environment Canada[8][9][10]

Demographics
Census Population
1901 697
1911 1,611
1921 3,109
1931 5,470
1941 5,849
1951 8,038
1961 9,481
1971 9,947
1981 8,906
1991 8,891
1996 8,790
2001 8,315
2006 8,103
2011 7,952
2016 7,739

Fort Frances had a population of 7,739 people in 2016, which represents a decrease of 2.7% from the 2011 census count. The median household income in 2015 for Fort Frances was $62,928, which was below the Ontario provincial average of $74,287.[2]

The town's ethnic makeup is 82% European Canadian, 17% Aboriginal Canadian and 1% Other (including Black Canadian and South Asian Canadian)

Coat of arms

The city coat of arms features a bull moose; maple leaves; a "Magneto", representative of electricity (industry); two men in a canoe; a white pine tree; and the motto "Industry and Perseverance."

Media

Newspapers

Online media
  • NWO Update
  • Fort Frances Times Online
  • Downtown Fort Frances on the Great Canadian Main Street Facebook page

Television stations

The only local television channel serving Fort Frances is the Shaw TV community channel on Shaw Cable channel 10.

There are no local broadcast outlets or repeaters serving Fort Frances; Shaw Cable carries CBWT-DT (CBC), CBWFT-DT (Ici Radio-Canada Télé) and CKY-DT (CTV) from Winnipeg, CITV-DT (Global) from Edmonton, and TVO, plus CITY-DT (Citytv), CHCH-DT (independent), CFTM-DT (TVA, live feed) and TFO. CJBN-TV from Kenora used to be available on cable until it permanently signed off on January 27, 2017.

United States network programming on Shaw TV comes from Detroit (WDIV-TV, WXYZ-TV, WWJ-TV, and WTVS) and Rochester (WUHF); stations from the Duluth television market are not available on cable, though they are available over-the-air from repeaters in International Falls.

Radio stations

Another radio station, CKWO FM 92.3, was licensed to the neighbouring Couchiching First Nation. The station closed and went silent in 2007.

Education

Elementary and secondary schools

Rainy River District School Board

Northwest Catholic District School Board

  • St Michael's School
  • St Francis School

Post-secondary schools

Former elementary schools

Rainy River District School Board

  • F.H. Huffman School
  • Alexander Mackenzie School
  • Sixth Street School
  • Alberton Central School (Alberton, Ontario)
  • McIrvine School
  • Old Fort Frances High School

Northwest Catholic District School Board

  • St. Mary's Catholic School

Notable Fort Francesians

Culture and attractions
  • The Fort Frances Museum
  • Fort Frances Library and Technology Centre
  • The Border Land Arts Alliance
  • Tour de Fort
  • Pither's Point Park
  • LaVerendrye Parkway- The Sorting Gap Marina
  • The Lookout Tower, open to tour during summer
  • The Tugboat Hallet, open to tour during summer
  • Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship, held annually in late July [12]
  • Scott Street Shopping District
  • Kitchen Creek Golf Club
  • Heron Landing Golf Course
  • 8th Street Walking & Ski Trails
  • Little Beaver Snow Park
  • Rainy Lake Square
  • City Hall
  • Rendezvous Yacht Club [13]
  • The Noden Causeway
  • The Rainy Lake Nordic Ski Club

Sport

Fort Frances is home to the following amateur sports teams:

Fort Frances was the home of the former amateur sports teams:

Sporting facilities include :

  • Memorial Sports Centre
  • Couchiching First Nations Arena also known as "The Duke" - located in neighboring Couchiching First Nation

Sources
  1. "Fort Frances community profile". 2011 Census data. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
  2. "Fort Frances community profile". 2016 Census data. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  3. https://www.newgold.com/assets/rainy-river/default.aspx
  4. "A Short History of Fort Frances". Town of Fort Frances. Archived from the original on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
  5. Sylvia Van Kirk, "CAMERON, JOHN DUGALD," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 8, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed November 22, 2015, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/cameron_john_dugald_8E.html.
  6. Sylvia Van Kirk, "SIMPSON, FRANCES RAMSAY," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 8, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed November 22, 2015, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/simpson_frances_ramsay_8E.html.
  7. John S. Galbraith, "SIMPSON, Sir GEORGE," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 8, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed November 22, 2015, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/simpson_george_8E.html.
  8. "Fort Frances Airport". Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010. Environment Canada. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  9. "Fort Frances". Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000. Environment Canada. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  10. "Fort Frances RCS". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  11. https://www.nhl.com/fans/nhl-centennial/100-greatest-nhl-players
  12. https://www.canadianbass.com/
  13. https://traveltheheart.org/entries/rendezvous-yacht-club/fb27df8a-2573-4b00-bac5-92f1020549c1
  1. Temperature and precipitation normals were collected at Fort Frances Airport for the period 1981−2010. Extreme high and low temperatures were recorded in the town of Fort Frances from January 1892 to September 1995 and at Fort Frances Airport from August 1976 to present.


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