Trenton (Ontario)

The Trent River was known to the Mississauga First Nation as Sangichiwigewonk, or 'fast flowing.' It was named by European settlers after the River Trent in England.

French explorer Samuel de Champlain followed the Trent passing through Trenton in 1615. The area around the mouth of the Trent River was first settled by Europeans in the 1780s. Assorted settlements and town plots in the area went under a number of names, until the Village of Trenton was incorporated in 1853. Trenton grew thanks to its port location and the area's lumber industry. During the First World War, the town was home to a major munitions plant owned by the British Chemical Company. This facility was built in 1915 to manufacture artillery, rifle, and small arms ammunition. Three weeks before the Armistice, an explosion levelled the plant. Remains of the old plant can still be found today.

Trenton was also an important film production centre. In 1917, a film studio was built in the town and a number of productions were filmed there. The advent of talkies and 16mm film made the equipment at the film plant obsolete and the facility closed in 1934.

The construction of a RCAF Station Trenton, a major Royal Canadian Air Force base just east of Trenton, started in 1929 and continued through the 1930s. This provided a major economic boost to the area through the Great Depression, the Second World War and later. Today it is Canada's largest air force base; the final flight path for fallen Canadian soldiers led from Afghanistan to Trenton by air, then followed the "Highway of Heroes" from Trenton to Toronto.

In 1998, Trenton was amalgamated with the Village of Frankford and the Townships of Murray and Sidney to form the City of Quinte West. Trenton is the largest community within the municipality.

• City of Quinte West Tourism
• 🌍 Quinte West Chamber of Commerce - Visitor Information Centre, 97 Front St, ☏ +1 613-392-7635, toll-free: +1-866-485-2841. Summer 9AM-5PM, Winter closed Sa Su. (updated Feb 2023)
• 🌍 Trent Severn Waterway Visitor Kiosk, 155 B Trenton-Frankford Rd (Lock 1). Late May to early September. (updated Feb 2023)

The city is on a section of Highway 401 designated the "Highway of Heroes" and is about two hours east of Toronto and one hour west of Kingston. The former Ontario Highway 2 passes through the base and the city's downtown; Trenton is also the western terminus of the Loyalist Parkway (former Ontario Highway 33) which leads to Prince Edward County.

Trenton serves as a terminus on the Trent-Severn Waterway, a national historic site and canal system that today serves recreational boating, connecting to Georgian Bay in Simcoe County via Peterborough (Ontario), Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls, and Orillia.

See also: Rail travel in Canada

• 🌍 Trenton Junction station, 18277B Telephone Rd. (updated Aug 2023)
  • VIA Rail Canada, toll-free: +1-888-842-7245. Operates many intercity trains across Canada. (updated Apr 2022) Operates between Ottawa and Toronto including stops in Smiths Falls, Brockville, Gananoque, Kingston, Napanee, Bellevile, Trenton, Cobourg, Port Hope, and Oshawa. Operates daily.

While Trenton's location at part of the Windsor-Quebec corridor places it on key lines served by many intercity bus routes. Most runs are express services which do not stop in the city. Slightly better service is available in nearby Belleville.

Scheduled passenger services are provided on a limited basis by:

• 🌍 Megabus, 442 Front St, customerservice@megabus.com. Bus from Toronto (North York) and Toronto Pearson airport (YYZ ^IATA) 
• 🌍 Quinte Transit. Transit bus service from Belleville, to Trenton Town Centre. (updated Dec 2021)

• Brighton Applefest, On main street and King Edward Park. Annual weekend festival, late September, various locations. BBQ, dog show, children's village, dances, street fair, car show, arts and crafts show, dinners, Sunday parade. 
• Presqu'ile Provincial Park, 1 Bayshore Rd, Brighton, ☏ +1 613-475-4324. Waterfront park with Ontario's second-oldest operating lighthouse and original lighthouse keeper's cottage. 
• Proctor House Museum, 96 Yonge St., Brighton, ☏ +1 613-475-2144. Local 1850s merchant's home with wishing well, barn and carriage house.