Wilno, Ontario
For alternative meanings of Wilno see Wilno (disambiguation)The hamlet of
Wilno, Ontario in
Renfrew County, Ontario, is the oldest
Polish settlement in
Canada. The people who first settled in this area in the
1800s were mainly of
Kashubian origin. The town is in the
Madawaska valley.
At one time,
J.R. Booth's
Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway ran through the town. The former train route is now a recreational path.
The hamlet was named after
Wilno (now in
Lithuania), the birthplace of Reverend Ludwik Dembski, a community spiritual leader.
In 1972, Wilno came into the spotlight as the result of a report "Vampires, Dwarves, And Witches Among The Ontario Kashubs" published by the Canadian Museum of Man, now the
Canadian Museum of Civilization. This report appears to have been based more on
folklore than local customs. However, it attracted attention from the National Enquirer and Psychology Today in the '70s. The legend still pops up from time to time.
In
1984,
Pope John Paul II flew over the hamlet while on a visit to Canada, disappointing some residents who thought that, given the fact that he was Polish, he would pay his respects to Canada's first Polish settlement.
*
Polish-Canadians*
Wilno*
Wilno unofficial website*
Wilno Heritage Trails
