The Founding of Newboro

Photo by Belinda Betz - January 4, 2006

Plaque Location

The County of Leeds and Grenville
The Township of Rideau Lakes
At the war memorial, Drummond Street or Highway 42, Newboro

Plaque Text

The settlement of this area was begun during the building of the Rideau Canal in 1826-32 when a major construction camp was located here at the Isthmus. In 1833 Benjamin Tett, owner of a nearby sawmill, opened a store and three years later a post office named Newborough was established. A small community including several stores gradually developed as a trade centre for the region's lumbering industry and agriculture. About 1850 a tannery was established and within ten years two iron mines had been opened in the vicinity. The ore was exported via the Rideau to smelters in the United States. Growth was further stimulated by the erection of a foundry and a steam sawmill and in 1876 Newboro was incorporated as a Village.