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[from "Beyond Our Memory" by Fitzroy Township Historical Society]

Galetta is a village in eastern Ontario, Canada, located near the mouth of the Mississippi River where it flows into the Ottawa River. Once part of Fitzroy Township and later West Carleton Township, it is now part of the City of Ottawa.

Like many settlements in the Ottawa Valley, Galetta had its origin when private entrepreneurs sought to exploit the power potential of its rivers for driving a commercial mill. The area was first settled in 1823 when Andrew Forbes settled on the 6^th Line about a mile east of Galetta. James Riddell also settled on the 6th Line at the Mississippi as did Joshua Burr and James Steen. James Hubbell leased the land on which the water privileges at the falls were located. After some 20 years, however, Hubbell had done nothing to develop the potential of the falls and he sold the rights to James Steen.

James Steen built a mill at the falls and the area was renamed Steen's Falls. Hubbell later re-acquired the rights but subsequently re-sold those rights to James Galetti Whyte who began woollen manufacturing. The village name was changed to Galetta (after Whyte's mother's name).

In the 1870s the village included a store, a grist mill, a woollen mill, a carding and spinning mill, a shingle mill, and a cooperage. As well, there was a potash works on the island in the Mississippi River. At this time both Galetta and Mohrs Corner were competing for recognition as the centre of the local area.

Considerable prosperity came to the Village of Galetta when the Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway was completed in 1893. The local Post Office that was originally located in Mohrs Corner then moved to Galetta and the Town Hall in Mohrs Corner was moved in 1897.

The Galetta Electric Light Company was formed in 1907 to provide electricity for the Town of Arnprior. This powerhouse subsequently provided power locally to the Village of Galetta and to the Kingdon Mine. The Kingdon Lead Mine brought another wave of economic boom to the area when it was re-activated in 1914 to meet the demand for the lead during WW I. The mine then operated continually until it was closed in 1931.

Once a centre of thriving industries, Galetta is now a peaceful village that is home mostly to young people who work elsewhere and to retirees who have been drawn to this picturesque location on the Mississippi River.

 

 

Grist Mill Grinding Wheels      

[from "Beyond Our Memory" by Fitzroy Township Historical Society]      

    

Go HERE for a map of the village of Galetta