๐จ๐ฆ Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay. Collingwood is well known as a tourist destination, for its skiing in the winter, and limestone caves along the Niagara Escarpment in the summer.
History The land in the area was first inhabited by the Iroquoian-speaking Petun nation, which built a string of villages in the vicinity of the nearby Niagara Escarpment. They were driven from the region by the Iroquois in 1650 who withdrew from the region around 1700. European settlers and freed Black slaves arrived in the area in the 1840s, bringing with them their religion and culture.
Collingwood was incorporated as a town in 1858, nine years before Confederation, and was named after Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, Lord Nelson's second in command at the Battle of Trafalgar, who assumed command of the British fleet after Nelson's death.
The area had several other names associated with it, including Hurontario (because it lies at the end of Hurontario Street, which runs from Lake Huron โ of which Georgian Bay is a part โ south to Lake Ontario), Nottawa, and Hens-and-Chickens Harbour, because of one large and four small islands in the bay.
In 1855, the Ontario, Simcoe & Huron (later called the Northern) Railway came into Collingwood, and the harbour became the shipment point for goods destined for the upper Great Lakes ports of Chicago and Port Arthur-Fort William (now Thunder Bay). Shipping produced a need for ship repairs, so it was not long before an organized shipbuilding business was created. On May 24, 1883, the Collingwood Shipyards, formally known as Collingwood Dry Dock Shipbuilding and Foundry Company Limited, opened with a special ceremony. On September 12, 1901, the Huronic, the first steel-hulled ship in Canada, was launched in Collingwood. The shipyards produced Lakers and during World War II contributed to the production of corvettes for the Royal Canadian Navy. Shipbuilding was one of the principal industries in the town, employing as much as 10% of the total labour force. However, overseas competition and overcapacity in shipbuilding in Canada led to the demise of shipbuilding in Collingwood in September 1986.
The creation of government incentive programs and a fully serviced industrial park made it possible for Collingwood to attract eleven new manufacturing firms to the town by 1971. Eight additional manufacturing companies had located in the town by 1983, making Collingwood the largest industrial employer in the region.
Economy Today, Collingwood's industrial base, which includes Pilkington Glass of Canada, Goodall Rubber Company - Canada ULC, and VOAC Inc, and which are among the community's largest employers, has begun to erode.
Several industries in the area have closed, including Collingwood Ethanol L.P., Nacan Products (2004), Backyard Products (2004), Kaufman of Collingwood (2006), Goodyear Tires (2007), Alcoa Wheel products (2008) and the Blue Mountain Pottery (2004). Collingwood is also home to the distillery where Canadian Mist Whisky is produced.
In June 2007, Collingwood Ethanol (now Amaizeingly Green) began production in the former Nacan facility. The company expected to produce 50 million litres of ethanol annually to satisfy regulatory requirements on ethanol content in gasoline mandated by the provincial and federal governments. Collingwood Ethanol also produces byproducts of the ethanol manufacturing process, including an organic corn gluten fertilizer. Petitions have been submitted to the town by residents of a new housing development located across the road in an effort to force Collingwood Ethanol to reduce the amount of odour and noise that they are causing during the times when they are in full production. Before Collingwood Ethanol started production, however, Nacan (a starch plant that once occupied the now ethanol plant) also created a strong odour and noise. This made many locals wonder why a housing development would be built across the road from an industrial part of town. In December 2012, Amaizeingly Green filed for receivership of the plant. Due to the higher cost of corn, the plant has since been closed. Demolition of the plant started Dec 2018.
Located on the southern shores of Georgian Bay and close to Blue Mountain, a promontory of the Niagara Escarpment, the town is a major recreation area for the southern part of the province. Blue Mountain itself is noted for skiing, and also for its Scenic Caves. The town is also a short distance from Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, a destination that received the title of Biosphere Reserve in 2004.
Local media include the CollingwoodToday.ca News site and Collingwood-Wasaga Connection community newspapers, and radio station CKCB-FM. The Barrie-based regional television station CKVR-TV maintains a bureau in Collingwood, and the Owen Sound-based Bayshore Broadcasting radio group also has an office in Collingwood. The Collingwood annual week-end Elvis Presley festival attracted Elvis impersonators from the world over for 25 years but as of 2020 municipal support has been discontinued.
Collingwood has a population of over 24,811 people. Collingwood also forms part of the wider Simcoe County which has a population of over 307,050 people. Collingwood is situated near Midhurst.
Twin Towns, Sister Cities Collingwood has links with:
๐บ๐ธ Boone, USA ๐ฏ๐ต Katano, Japan ๐ฒ๐ฝ Zihuatanejo, Mexico๐บ๐ธ Stevens Point 44.517
๐ฎ๐น Emilia-Romagna 44.526
๐ซ๐ท Largentiรจre 44.544
๐บ๐ธ Burlington 44.467
๐ท๐ด Sector 3 (Bucharest) 44.433
๐ท๐ธ Mladenovac 44.433
๐ท๐ด Bucureลti 44.417
๐บ๐ธ Summerville -80.187
๐บ๐ธ Coconut Creek -80.183
๐บ๐ธ Fort Lauderdale -80.144
๐บ๐ธ Miami Beach -80.128
๐บ๐ธ Pompano Beach -80.106
๐จ๐ฆ Orangeville -80.1
๐บ๐ธ Miami Gardens -80.223
๐บ๐ธ Lauderhill -80.223
๐บ๐ธ Allapattah -80.224
๐บ๐ธ Plantation -80.24
๐บ๐ธ Winston-Salem -80.244
๐บ๐ธ Washington -80.26
Locations Near: Collingwood -80.2167,44.5
๐จ๐ฆ Midland -79.883,44.75 d: 38.3
๐จ๐ฆ Midhurst -79.721,44.447 d: 39.8
๐จ๐ฆ Barrie -79.686,44.389 d: 43.9
๐จ๐ฆ Orangeville -80.1,43.9 d: 67.4
๐จ๐ฆ Owen Sound -80.934,44.565 d: 57.3
๐จ๐ฆ Caledon -79.867,43.867 d: 75.7
๐จ๐ฆ Newmarket -79.45,44.05 d: 78.9
๐จ๐ฆ Aurora -79.467,44 d: 81.6
๐จ๐ฆ Halton Hills -79.95,43.617 d: 100.5
Antipodal to: Collingwood 99.783,-44.5
๐ฆ๐บ Bunbury 115.637,-33.327 d: 18170.5
๐ฆ๐บ Mandurah 115.721,-32.529 d: 18099.5
๐ฆ๐บ Rockingham 115.717,-32.267 d: 18077.8
๐ฆ๐บ City of Cockburn 115.833,-32.167 d: 18062.2
๐ฆ๐บ Vincent 115.834,-31.936 d: 18042.7
๐ฆ๐บ Perth 115.857,-31.953 d: 18042.7
๐ฆ๐บ Albany 117.867,-35.017 d: 18150.5
๐ฆ๐บ Wanneroo 115.803,-31.747 d: 18028.5