Article

Parry Sound

Published Online October 25, 2012

Last Edited March 4, 2015

Parry Sound, Ont, incorporated as a town in 1887, population 6191 (2011c), 5818 (2006c). The Town of Parry Sound is located on the eastern side of GEORGIAN BAY, 225 km north of Toronto. The name honours British explorer Sir

Parry Sound

 Parry Sound, Ont, incorporated as a town in 1887, population 6191 (2011c), 5818 (2006c). The Town of Parry Sound is located on the eastern side of GEORGIAN BAY, 225 km north of Toronto. The name honours British explorer Sir William Edward PARRY. The site was purchased in 1865 by William H. Beatty, a land surveyor looking for fresh timber limits. The settlement was laid out after 1867. Beatty family interests were managed by a son, William, Jr, who treated the town as a personal fiefdom and was known as "the governor." He enforced prohibition and at one point circulated his own money - Beatty scrip. For many years logging was the major industry. As logging declined, tourism increased and now the town is the centre of the Thirty Thousand Islands vacation area. It is famous as the home of hockey legend Bobby ORR and of Festival of the Sound.