Grand Falls-Windsor

Grand Falls-Windsor is a town in the central part of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As of the 2021 census, the town has a population of 13,853 people, making it the largest town in the central region and the sixth largest in the whole province.

The town is well-known for hosting the yearly Exploits Valley Salmon Festival, a celebration that brings together people to enjoy salmon and other outdoor activities. Grand Falls-Windsor was created in 1991 when the towns of Grand Falls and Windsor joined together to form one community amalgamated.

Today, Grand Falls-Windsor is one of the two biggest places where most people live in Central Newfoundland major population centres. It plays an important role in the area as a center for work, school, and fun activities.

History

In 1768, Lieutenant John Cartwright named a waterfall he found "Grand Falls" while traveling through the Exploits Valley along the Exploits River. The area stayed mostly unchanged until 1905, when the town of Grand Falls was created. This happened because a company wanted to build a mill there for making paper.

The mill opened in 1909, and people from many places came to work. Over time, a nearby area called Grand Falls Station grew and became a town named Windsor. In 1991, Grand Falls and Windsor joined together to form the town of Grand Falls-Windsor. Today, it is an important place in the central part of Newfoundland.

Geography

The town of Grand Falls-Windsor is found in the middle of the island of Newfoundland. It is about an hour’s drive west of Gander, two and a half hours west of Clarenville, and four hours west of St. John's. It is also slightly more than two hours east of Deer Lake, two hours and forty-five minutes east of Corner Brook, and close to five hours east of Port Aux Basques. The town is linked by Newfoundland and Labrador Route 1, which is part of the Trans-Canada Highway.

The town is made up of the older towns of Grand Falls and Windsor. Several important roads run through the town, including Lincoln Road, Cromer Avenue, Main Street, High Street, and Scott Avenue.

Climate

Grand Falls-Windsor has a humid continental climate (Koppen: Dfb), which is typical for Newfoundland. Because it is farther inland, the town feels less effect from the Atlantic Ocean than other places. This means its summers are some of the warmest on the island, and its winter lows can be colder than in places like St. John's and Corner Brook. However, temperature changes are not as extreme as in other parts of Canada at the same latitudes.

Economy

In 2008, a big paper mill in Grand Falls-Windsor closed down. This mill made a lot of paper, but it stopped working because of money problems and changes in the paper business. At the time, it was one of the biggest places for people to get jobs in the town. The mill was taken apart a few years later.

Even though the mill closed, Grand Falls-Windsor is still important for the area. Many people work for Central Health, which takes care of people’s health needs. The town keeps growing with new businesses, and now there is a heritage centre where the old mill’s training centre used to be.

Services

The town is served by several schools, including Woodland Primary, Sprucewood Academy, Forest Park Primary, Exploits Valley Intermediate, and Exploits Valley High. For higher education, the College of the North Atlantic offers courses and training programs.

Healthcare in Grand Falls-Windsor is provided by Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services. The nearest airport is Exploits Valley (Botwood) Airport, while Gander International Airport is about 100 km away. The town also has a public heliport on Scott Avenue. Communication services are available from companies like AT&T Canada, Primus Canada, and Aliant, offering mobile phones, high-speed Internet, and digital television. The local newspaper is The Central Voice, and there are several radio stations serving the area, including CHEV-FM, CKXG-FM, CKCM, CKMY-FM, VOAR-8-FM, CBT-FM, CBC Radio One, and CBN-FM-1.

Sports

Grand Falls-Windsor has two hockey teams: the senior team, Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts, and the Grand Falls-Windsor Blades. The Cataracts won the 2017 Allan Cup, a big award for top senior hockey teams in Canada.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Newfoundland and Labrador

In the 2021 Census of Population by Statistics Canada, Grand Falls-Windsor had a population of 13,853 people. They lived in 6,122 of the town's 6,628 homes. The town covers an area of 54.84 km² (21.17 sq mi), with a population density of 252.6/km² (654.3/sq mi) in 2021.

Data from 2006 shows there were 6,420 males and 7,140 females. The median age for both groups was around 42 years. The town's population is aging, with the median age rising from 36.2 in 1996 to 42.6 in 2006. Most people in the town were married, while others were single, divorced, widowed, or in a common-law relationship. Small numbers of people identified as Aboriginal people, Chinese Canadians, Arab Canadians, Indo-Canadians, and Filipino Canadians.

In 2001, most residents were Protestant, with many also Catholic. A few people followed other religions or had no religious affiliation. The unemployment rate in 2006 was 17.0%, slightly lower than the province's average. Earnings for workers in the town were also a bit higher than the provincial average.

Sights

The Demasduit Regional Museum in Grand Falls, located at 24 Catherine St., displays exhibits about the Beothuk people, geology, regional industry, and natural history. It used to be called the Mary March Provincial Museum, but the name was changed in 2021 to honor Demasduit. In front of the museum, you can see a locomotive from the Newfoundland Railway, which stopped operating in 1988. The Salmonid Interpretation Centre in Grand Falls is also worth visiting. Every summer, the town holds the Salmon Festival, which has featured famous performers like Aerosmith, Kiss, and The Eagles.

Harmsworth Hall was built in 1929 by the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company, an important company in Newfoundland’s history. It was named after one of the original owners of a pulp-and-paper mill and served the community as a theatre, playhouse, and meeting hall for many years. When the Town of Grand Falls was incorporated in 1963, the company gave the building to the town to use as a town hall. Today, it houses offices and council chambers for the Town of Grand Falls-Windsor.

The hall has a wooden frame with brick walls, stands two storeys tall, and features large arched windows overlooking High Street, the town’s main street. It also has a peaked roof and was officially recognized as a Registered Heritage Structure in 1998. It is one of the few heritage buildings in central Newfoundland.

Notable people

Grand Falls-Windsor is home to many talented individuals who have made their mark in various fields. Notable people include Don Howse, a player in the National Hockey League, and Gordon Pinsent, a well-known actor in television, theatre, and film.

Other famous residents include Dave Pichette, a retired professional hockey player who played for teams like the Quebec Nordiques, St. Louis Blues, New Jersey Devils, and New York Rangers, and Jagmeet Singh, who was the leader of the federal New Democratic Party and spent part of his childhood in Grand Falls-Windsor.