Fort Frances travel guide

Fort Frances, Ontario is a town, located in the northwestern part of Ontario, Canada. Its population in 2006 was 8,103. It is in the Rainy River District. Fort Frances is a popular fishing destination and hosts the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship each summer.
Located on the international border with Minnesota where Rainy Lake narrows to become Rainy River, it is connected to International Falls, Minnesota by the Fort Frances-International Falls International Bridge.
The first European settlement west of Lake Superior, French Canadian fur traders known as voyageurs including La Vérendrye who in 1732 stopped briefly at Fort St. Pierre before building Fort St Charles on Magnuson Island on the west side of Lake of the Woods. A later HBC fort was established here in 1817 and the subsequent settlement was named after Lady Frances Simpson, wife of then Hudson's Bay Company Governor George Simpson, who visited the fort many times.
Over 2,400 residents consider themselves of Ukrainian origin. http://www.kenboshcoff.ca/articles.asp?id=322
The town was incorporated in 1903 and held a big centennial celebration in 2003.
The main employer is a pulp and paper mill established in the early 1900s with numerous owners over the years, notably Edward Wellington Backus. The mill is now owned by Abitibi-Consolidated, which employes 700 Fort Frances residents.
The town was struck by the Fort Frances, Ontario Tornado on June 25, 1946, causing major damage to the town. The tornado was a week after the deadly Windsor tornado. (...) more....