Serie 0007 - Deep River Annals

After World War Two, near the end of 1945, the recently formed Canadian Crown Corporation, Defences Industries Limited, conducted nuclear research at a newly constructed plant and residential site in Deep River, Ontario. Deep River is on the banks of the Ottawa River in the Upper Ottawa Valley and is situated on the unceded traditional lands and territory of the Algonquins, Pikwàkanagàn First Nation, under the Robinson-Huron Treaty 61 of 1850, and the Williams Treaty of 1923.

The area underwent accelerated development and unprecedented expansion, and was soon inundated with government personnel, scientists, engineers, construction workers, and skilled operators from the USA, Great Britain, and Canada who settled with their families. In January 1947, facilities for a church and school were needed due to the sudden large influx of 850 newcomers who were primarily Catholic. During several meetings, Reverend J. R. McElligott requested the Canadian National Research Council help establish St. Mary’s School, which they agreed to fund and build. Beginning in September 1948, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke, Ontario commuted from Pembroke to provide spiritual care and to teach classes at the partially completed school. St. Mary’s School officially opened on November 13, 1949.

Over the next 15 years the plant and residential site at Deep River continued to expand as a “company town” with no private ownership of housing. The Defence Industries Limited administered all the town housing and medical facilities. In 1952, a new Crown Corporation, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, was formed and took over responsibility for the town and plant until Deep River officially became incorporated as a self-governing town on January 1, 1959.

In 1951, the Sisters of St. Joseph who taught at St. Mary’s School rented a house in Deep River. In December 1953, they obtained a second residence next door and retrofitted a chapel. In 1955 the Sisters rented a half-duplex next door on the other side for additional accommodation, and space for music classes. A new church, Our Lady of Good Counsel, opened on November 15, 1953, with a seating capacity of 430 to accommodate the rapidly growing parish community. Construction for St. Mary’s Convent adjacent to St. Mary’s School began on October 28, 1965, and was ready for occupancy in June 1966.

After 50 years of service in Deep River, the Sisters founded St. Mary’s Renewal Centre, on June 20, 1983. It was a spiritual retreat open to people of all faiths and ages in the former St. Mary’s Convent. The centre held youth awareness meetings, pre-marital preparation programs, teacher study groups, continuing education classes, and days of prayer. On May 31, 1988, St. Mary’s Renewal Centre closed due to the Sisters’ declining personnel to carry on functions that the centre was originally established for.