Paris, Ontario

This article is about the Ontario town. For other uses, see Paris (disambiguation).

Paris (2001 population, 9,881) is a town on the Grand River in Ontario, Canada. In 1999, its town government was amalgamated into the County of Brant, thus ending 149 years of being a free and distinct municipality.

The town was first settled in 1829 when Hiram Capron bought the land and built a mill on the present townsite. The town of Paris was officially established in 1850. Since the late 1990s, Paris has experienced substantial population growth, which may be in part attributed to the rising popularity of rural communities among GTA boundcommuters (see bedroom community).

The first long distance telephone call was made on August 10, 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell's father from downtown Brantford. Alexander Graham Bell received the call at what is now 91 Grand River St. North, Paris. It was a boot shop and a telegraph office at that time. Paris is also the transmitter site for a number of broadcast stations serving the Brantford and Kitchener-Waterloo areas. The actual tower site is 475 Ayr Road, just south of Ayr, and was erected and owned by Global in 1973 for CIII-TV. It leases space for broadcast clients including Conestoga College's campus radio station CJIQ as well as rebroadcasters of CBLA, CBL-FM, CJBC-FM and CBLN-1.

Paris District High School is the only high school in Paris.

Paris is referred to not only as "the cobblestone capital of Canada" (in reference to a number of aged cobblestone houses) but also as "the prettiest town in Canada". Paris is located at 43°12′N 80°23′W.

Paris was named for the nearby deposits of gypsum, used to make Plaster of Paris.

Famous people

• Syl Apps, Olympian, Toronto Maple Leafs player and Member of Provincial Parliament
• Todd Brooker, alpine skier
• Deborah Ellis, writer of award-winning children's novels
• Adrian Ferrazzutti, wooden furniture maker
• Natasha Filliol (nee Yaremczuk), Olympic triathlete
• Phyllis Gretzky (nee Hockin), mother of Wayne Gretzky
• D. Gregor Hagey, feature film cinematographer
• Elysia Muise, Canadian Winter Games 2003 gold medalist for ringette
• Ted Reader, celebrity chef
• Thomas Sevier, Entrepreneur - Darby Sportswear(Darby Athletics) sporting goods clothing
• Linda Schuyler, television producer of Degrassi
• Barry Silverthorn, documentary producer of The End of Suburbia
• Albert Walker, infamous conman and convicted killer
• Jay Wells, New York Rangers player and Stanley Cup champion
• John Bemrose, author of The Island Walkers

Service Clubs

• Kinsmen Club of Brantford

See also

• At The Forks of The Grand - History book on town