Deseronto, Ontario

Deseronto is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, in Hastings County, located on the shore of the Bay of Quinte. The town had a population of 1,824 in the Canada 2006 Census.

The town was named for Capt. John Deseronto, a native Mohawk who was also made a captain in the British Military Forces, and owes much of its cultural heritage and character to the Mohawks of the nearby Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. The most easterly municipality of Hastings County, it nestles on the shore of Mohawk Bay at the mouth of the Napanee River.

The town began to industrialize in 1848 when the H.B. Rathbun Co. registered in Oswego, New York established a lumber mill. They also developed many diversified industries all located in Deseronto but changing markets, devastating fires and a lack of good forest management led to the company's decline and they ceased operation in 1923 when they surrendered their charter. Deseronto, located 5 km from Highway 401, is the eastern gateway to the Bay of Quinte tourist region with the Skyway Bridge providing access to Prince Edward County.

Much of the land area of the town of Deseronto is part of the Culbertson Tract land claim submitted by the Tyendinaga Mohawks in 1995 and accepted for negotiation by Canada in 2003. The controversy surrounding this has led to recent protests. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2006/11/10/deseronto.html?ref=rss] ]

References

External links

* [http://deseronto.ca/ Town of Deseronto]