Population 9,500, Smiths Falls, ON is one of the cutest towns I have visited in ages. Walking the main street filled with local restaurants, thrift stores, and basic businesses, it feels like an old factory town that is on its way back. I was not surprised to learn Hershey used to make chocolate in the town's factory. It was sold to Canopy Growth (formerly Tweed), a leading cannabis manufacturer. They used it from 2017 to 2023 before scaling back their operations. Rumor has it, Hershey is moving back into the location.
It is the same feel one gets walking around mill towns in the United States. There is a solid main street area surrounded by homes. Most people there are associated with the business in town. When that business closes, the town suffers until something new moves in.
Downtown it feels as if time has stood still. At the top of the street is a small town library that recently popped its roof to make a larger children's section. The renovations were so new, they had a donor reception the day we arrived in town. Andrew Carnegie one said it was the best small town library.
Our early start on the nine hour drive meant we arrived in time for their weekly Farmers Market. Talking to ordinary Canadians I felt the stress of living in the United States melt away. Though our countries have been in an on again, off again tariff war which is impacting their economy, too, people welcomed us. They listened to me rail about our government. They told me about their lives. I was fully outed as an American, and it was okay. People told me they are on our side. There are like-minded people all around the world. As with Tanager, whom I met in Vancouver, there were reminders I am not alone. An artist gave me a glass redbird with her trademark clover inside to remind me I am not alone. It now sits on my desk next to a mini Woody Woodpecker a former boss gave me as a joke.
As best as we saw, the town has two major tourist attractions -- Heritage House and the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario (RMEO). The former we saved for a future trip. The latter deserves its own blogpost. Until a couple of years ago, they also had a Canal Museum. The visitor's center docent said unfortunately it was closed due to budget cuts and the artifacts were decommissioned. Once that happens, it is nearly impossible to rebuild. He is asked about it almost every day.
Smiths Falls has a major lock. It seems to be a place where boats park for the night before continuing on with their journey. Based on what we saw at our hotel, it is also a popular start with motorcyclists. We had two groups who used Smiths Falls as their home base as they did a "cloverleaf" type of trip.
As we walked back to our room we paused to dip our toes in the canal. There were a group of pre-teen boys frolicking in the water as their moms were watching and chatting at a picnic table a few feet away. The whole scene felt like something out of a Norman Rockwell picture. So calm and peaceful.
We ate at The Vault -- a former historic bank turning into a restaurant. The owners opened it during the Pandemic. Don was drawn to it because they were serving asparagus soup. I teased his ten-year old self would have been horrified if anyone suggested that in five decades he would be excited about eating asparagus. It is nice to see how we evolve.
The Vault opened during the pandemic and survived in part because they put black wooden dividers between the booths. When the restrictions went away, they kept them because it made the restaurant feel cozy.
I lost track of how many times we walked up and down Beckwith Street (which intersects with Main Street) and its side streets popping into the bulk food store, the pharmacy, thrift stores, and more. Everyone was friendly, and talkative. They also seemed relaxed.
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