Ramara

Ramara
Ramara
249
Website	www.ramara.ca

Ramara is a lower-tier

Simcoe County, Ontario

, Canada.

Ramara was formed in 1994 through the amalgamation of the townships of

Chippewas of Mnjikaning First Nation in Rama

.

Communities

The township comprises the communities of Atherley, Bayshore Village, Bayview Beach, Bonnie Beach, Brechin, Brechin Beach, Brechin Point, Concord Point, Cooper's Falls, Fawkham, Floral Park, Fountain Beach, Gamebridge, Gamebridge Beach, Geneva Park, Glenrest Beach, Grays Bay, Hopkins Bay, Joyland Beach, Lagoon City, Lakeview Beach, Little Falls, Longford Mills, Mara Beach, Mariposa Beach, McDonald Beach, Millington (ghost town), Murphy Beach, New Gamebridge Beach, Oaklawn Beach, O'Connell, Orkney Point, Orkney Beach, Paradise Point, Point of Mara Beach, Prophet Beach, Ramona, Rathburn, Riverside Beach, Sandy Beach, Sandy Pine Beach, Southview Cove, Talbot, Tanglewood Beach, Udney, Uptergrove, and Val Harbour.

Brechin is one of the township's largest communities. It is known for its several local businesses such as a new Tim Hortons and a Statue Store. The town has all the necessities of a small town, such as a Foodland, LCBO, Legion, both a Shell and a nearby Esso, as well as schools and churches. The town is also a central meeting location for the area's youth where they partake in numerous recreational activity involving the town's proximity to the lake.

The Township of Ramara owns and operates the Ramara Centre, located at 5482 Highway 12, between Atherley and Uptergrove. The Township of Ramara also owns community centres in Longford, Udney and Brechin that are operated by Community Centre Boards of Management which are composed of volunteers.

There are three fire halls in the Township. Fire Hall #1 is located at 3290 County Road 47, Brechin at the corner of County Rd. 47 & Hwy. 12. Fire Hall #2 is located at 85 Patricia Drive, Atherley at the corner of Patricia Drive & Balsam Rd. Fire Hall #3 is located at 7305 Simcoe County Rd. 169, Washago at County Rd #169 & Switch Road.

The Ontario Lumberjack Championships were held at the Brechin Ball Park on the second Saturday in June in 2012, 2013 and 2014.^{[citation needed]}

The Canadian rock band, Floral Park, takes its name from the Floral Park community in which one of the band's members grew up.

Goffatt Island

Located off from Sandy Beach, Goffatt Island is a privately owned 11.10 acres island in Lake Simcoe.^[2]

History

The former townships of Rama and Mara were first named in 1820. The origins of the names are unclear, as both may be either Spanish words (rama for "branch" and mara for "sea") or

Lieutenant-Governor Sir Peregrine Maitland had in mind. Being British, the names likely originated from the Ramayana, an ancient Sanskrit text. Rama

(Ramachandra), is a major deity of Hinduism. He is the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu. Mara is a Sanskrit word meaning "death" or any personification thereof. In Hinduism, Mara is the goddess of death.

The townships were originally part of York County, but were transferred to Ontario County when they were first incorporated as an amalgamated municipality in 1852. They were later reincorporated as separate municipalities in 1869.

A portion of Rama Township was allocated to form what became the

Orillia. These lands were surrendered by treaty in 1836. After that time, the local Indian Agent began purchasing lands in Rama Township and the Indigenous people were resettled there. The main settlement on the reserve is also known as Rama and is the site of Casino Rama

.

North of Rama, the community of Longford Mills was established in 1868. In 1867 American lumberman

Muskoka District. Sage had considered relocating his mill from Bell Ewart to a point between the Black River and Lake Couchiching, or possibly at Wasdell Falls. This area lacked rail transport, so the sawn lumber would have to be barged to the Northern Railway at Bell Ewart. Instead, Sage came up with the idea of a canal to float logs from the Black River to supply the mills of Lake Simcoe. The Rama Timber Transport Company was formed in 1868. Not only did it allow the logs of Muskoka and Victoria

reach the mills of Lake Simcoe, but helped establish the community of Longford Mills.

Ontario County was dissolved upon the formation of the

Regional Municipality of Durham

in 1974, and both townships were transferred to Simcoe County. As part of the municipal restructuring of Simcoe County, Mara and Rama Townships were reamalgamated to form Ramara in 1994.

Transportation

Rail

Canadian transcontinental service between Toronto and Vancouver. The station was also formerly a stop on the Ontario Northland Railway's Northlander

service.

The gingerbread style Atherley Junction station was built by the

Orillia, Ontario.^[5]

Bus

There is bus service from Toronto to Washago operated by Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services. As well, there is extensive charter bus service to Casino Rama.

Car

Trans Canada Highway) is a main connecting road between Ontario Highway 169

and Rama Road (Simcoe County Road 44).

Air

The closest airport is

Toronto Pearson Airport

, via Highway 12 and Highway 400.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Ramara had a population of 10,377 living in 4,408 of its 6,166 total private dwellings, a change of 9.4% from its 2016 population of 9,488. With a land area of 414.94 km² (160.21 sq mi), it had a population density of 25.0/km² (64.8/sq mi) in 2021.^[6]

References

^ "Census Profile, 2016 Census Ramara, Township". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
^ "Goffatt Island". Private Islands, Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
^ "The Northern Railway of Canada Group". Railway Pages and Charles Cooper. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
^ "C.N.Rys. Ontario Stations". CNR in Ontario. Jeffrey P. Smith. pp. Chronology tab. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
^ "Replica of the Atherley Junction station". Railpictures.ca. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Ontario". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.

External links

Official website

[census2016-1] "Census Profile, 2016 Census Ramara, Township". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2018.

[2] "Goffatt Island". Private Islands, Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2019.

[3] "The Northern Railway of Canada Group". Railway Pages and Charles Cooper. Retrieved 24 November 2018.

[4] "C.N.Rys. Ontario Stations". CNR in Ontario. Jeffrey P. Smith. pp. Chronology tab. Retrieved 24 November 2018.

[5] "Replica of the Atherley Junction station". Railpictures.ca. Retrieved 24 November 2018.

[2021census-6] "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Ontario". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.

[2]

[5]

[6]

v t e Simcoe County, Ontario
Cities ¹	Barrie Orillia
Towns	Bradford West Gwillimbury Collingwood Innisfil Midland New Tecumseth Penetanguishene Wasaga Beach
Townships	Adjala–Tosorontio Clearview Essa Oro-Medonte Ramara Severn Springwater Tay Tiny
Unincorporated communities	Airlie Alliston Beeton Bradford Cooper's Falls Creemore Edenvale Elmvale Midhurst Moonstone Newton Robinson Pinkerton Port McNicoll Thornton Tottenham
First Nations	Beausoleil Chippewas of Rama
Indian reserves	Christian Island 30 Christian Island 30A Mnjikaning First Nation 32
See also: Census divisions of Ontario ¹ Separated municipalities but remain a census subdivision of the county