Kawartha Lakes

Kawartha Lakes

Kawartha Lakes, formerly Lindsay, city, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It was formed in 2001 by the merger of the former town of Lindsay and the other communities constituting what until the amalgamation had been Victoria county. It was named for the Kawartha Lakes, a chain of lakes in the region.

It lies along the Scugog River, 21 miles (34 km) west-northwest of Peterborough. Laid out in 1825 as Purdy’s Mills (for William Purdy, who built the first mills), it was renamed Lindsay for one of the original land surveyors. The town’s growth has been due partly to the Trent Canal (1833) and the improvement of the waterway between Sturgeon and Scugog lakes, including the locks at Kawartha Lakes. The region is a gateway to the Kawartha Lakes recreation area and has lumbering and farming interests and light industries. The annual Kawartha Summer Theatre there features professional stock companies. Inc. town, 1857; city, 2001. Pop. (2006) 74,561; (2011) 73,214.