Cardiff is a community in Highlands East, Ontario. It was incorporated in 1862, and became a uranium mining town during the late 1950s.

Cardiff town hall

Location and nomenclature

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Cardiff is located on Highway 118 between the towns of Bancroft and Haliburton. The entrance to the townsite, off of Highway 118, is marked by a large metal sculpture of a dragonfly.

Cardiff was named after the Welsh city of the same name.[1]

History

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Bicroft mine, 1956

Cardiff is located in the geological area of the Grenville Province and has a unique combination of underground minerals.[2]

Cardiff opened in 1862, and was one of nine townships purchased by the Canadian Land and Emigration Company.[3] Early settlers included Mr Armstrong, Mr George Patterson, and Mr Joseph Dunlop.[4] Larger numbers of British settlers arrived in 1870, with the population reaching 31 in 1873, and 137 by 1883.[4]

In what was then known as the Basin Deposit or Basic Occurrence, mineral hunters have been travelling to the area that is now Cardiff in search of mica, phosphate, and feldspar to Cardiff since the late 19th-century.[5] The Basin Deposit later became the Silver Crater Mine in 1925, and production ramped up in 1927 until 1955.[6]

Uranium was first discovered in the area of Cardiff in 1922 by W. M. Richardson.[7] His find was first called "the Richardson deposit" and later "the Fission property,"[8]: 175  later the Fission Mine. Bicroft and Dyno were more successful uranium mines, operating from 1957 to 1963.[9][10]

Facilities

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Public facilities in Cardiff include the small Cardiff Elementary School,[11] a Royal Canadian Legion hall,[12] a Catholic church[13] and a United church, an outdoor swimming pool,[14] a post office,[15] and a library.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Armstrong, G. H. (2022). The Origin and Meaning of Place Names in Canada. Czechia: DigiCat.
  2. ^ Emproto, Christopher; Alvarez, Austin; Anderkin, Christian; Rakovan, John (7 March 2020). "The Crystallinity of Apatite in Contact with Metamict Pyrochlore from the Silver Crater Mine, ON, Canada". Minerals. 10 (3): 244. Bibcode:2020Mine...10..244E. doi:10.3390/min10030244.
  3. ^ Jesse E. Middleton, The Province of Ontario: a History: 1615-1927, 1927
  4. ^ a b Mulvany, C. P., Ryan, C. M. (1884). History of the County of Peterborough, Ontario: Containing a History of the County; History of Haliburton County; Their Townships, Towns, Schools, Churches, Etc.; General and Local Statistics; Biographical Sketches; and an Outline History of the Dominion of Canada, Etc., Etc. Canada: C. Blackett Robinson.
  5. ^ Emproto, Christopher; Alvarez, Austin; Anderkin, Christian; Rakovan, John (7 March 2020). "The Crystallinity of Apatite in Contact with Metamict Pyrochlore from the Silver Crater Mine, ON, Canada". Minerals. 10 (3): 244. Bibcode:2020Mine...10..244E. doi:10.3390/min10030244.
  6. ^ J. Satterly and D. F. Hewitt, Some Radioactive Mineral Occurrence in the Bancroft Area, Province on Ontario, 1955
  7. ^ Reynolds, Nila (1979). Bancroft. A Bonanza of Memories. Bancroft Centennial Committee. p. 192.
  8. ^ Lang, A. H.; Griffith, J. W.; Steacy, H. R. (1962). Canadian Deposits of Uranium and Thorium (PDF). Yukon University: Geological Survey of Canada - Department of Mines and Technical Surveys. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  9. ^ Parsons, Michael B.; Friske, Peter W. B.; Laidlow, Allison M.; Jamieson, Heather E. (2014). "Abstract: Controls on Uranium, Rare Earth Element, and Radionuclide Mobility at the Decommissioned Bicroft Uranium Mine, Ontario". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ Voisin, Stella (28 July 2007). "Report on The Caring for Kids in Cardiff Research Project" (PDF). Fay And Associates. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-24.
  11. ^ "Cardiff Elementary School". Cardiff Elementary School. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  12. ^ "Home". www.highlandseast.ca. 2022-11-30. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  13. ^ "Our lady of Lourdes (Cardiff), St. Mary's (Chandos), St. Jean Vianney (Highland Grove) - Diocese of Peterborough, Ontario". www.canxsys.com. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  14. ^ "Swimming and Swim Lessons". www.highlandseast.ca. 2022-07-11. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  15. ^ "Canada Post - Find a Post Office - Results Detail - Print". www.canadapost-postescanada.ca. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  16. ^ "Cardiff Branch". www.haliburtonlibrary.ca. Retrieved 2023-02-12.


44°59′58″N 78°00′49″W / 44.99944°N 78.01361°W / 44.99944; -78.01361