10 things you didn’t know about Brockville, Ontario

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Quick: Can you tell me which city in the 1000 Islands region of Eastern Ontario is home to Canada’s oldest railway tunnel and was once the site of Canada’s biggest bank heist?

If you said Brockville, you know your history.

And history is one of the great reasons to check out this small city on the St. Lawrence River, about an hour and 10 minutes southwest of Ottawa. Let’s start with that bank heist.

Disclosure: I visited some of these sites as a guest of the Downtown Brockville BIA. This post contains affiliate links.

The great Brockville bank robbery

One night in 1958, a gang broke into the vault of a trust company—ironically, just down the street from the court house—and made off with millions of dollars’ worth of jewellery and bonds, along with a stash of cash. At the time, it was the country’s largest recorded bank heist, and only one of the thieves was ever caught. Today, the trust company building houses the Keystorm Pub, where you can enjoy a pint and see the gigantic old vault door.

Shipwrecks for scuba divers

Speaking of the Keystorm Pub: It is named after one of the almost 30 shipwrecks in the St. Lawrence River near Brockville, which may be of interest to scuba divers.

Canada’s oldest railway tunnel

Another historic site worth checking out is the Brockville Railway Tunnel, built underneath the city between 1854 and 1860 as part of the Brockville and Ottawa Railway. After the last train chugged through in 1970, it was largely forgotten until a keen civic group restored it as a Canada 150 project. It opened to the public on August 12, 2017, and was an immediate hit.

I have to admit, I wasn’t clear on the appeal of an old stone tunnel until I toured it. The 525-metre passage, with its graceful arches and cool rock deposits, is strangely beautiful. An LED light-and-sound installation bathes it in shades of purple, blue and green. But the best part of the light show occurs when the tunnel goes quite dark, except for a red glow at one end that slowly moves toward visitors, accompanied the increasingly loud noise of an old steam engine. You really do feel as though you’re about to be run over by a train. (Kids will love it.)

Otters and ecology at the Aquatarium

Kids will probably also get a kick out of the nearby Aquatarium, which is part aquarium and part museum. You can all learn about the history, ecology and hydroelectric uses of the St. Lawrence River. Along with interactive exhibits on watery topics, a ropes course and more, the Aquatarium is home to some hilariously frisky river otters.

Brockville snacks and meals

If all that touring makes you hungry, you’re in luck: because it’s a busy tourist town in summer, Brockville has a surprisingly large number of downtown restaurants. The Noshery specializes in steak. And if you like fudge that’s rich but not tooth-achingly sweet, the O’Mally Kourt Fudgery serves up flavours such as chewy praline, salted caramel and cotton candy.

P.S.: After I posted this, several readers urged me to mention their favourite Brockville fish and chip spot—but some didn’t name the shop! One reader gave a hearty shoutout to Don’s Fish and Chips on Water Street West. I haven’t been there yet—it’s now on my future travel wish list. However, I did drop into Manoll’s Fish and Chips on Buell Street a couple of years ago and enjoyed it a lot (the house-made seafood sauce has a nice kick).

Boat tours and ziplining

Brockville also makes a good base for exploring the region. You can take a sightseeing cruise of the 1000 Islands from Blockhouse Island downtown. A short drive west of Brockville in Mallorytown, you can test your nerve at Treetop Trekking 1000 Islands, which bills itself as “Canada’s largest aerial adventure and zipline park.”

Pink pills for pale people

Back in the late 1800s, Senator George Taylor Fulford of Brockville made his fortune selling a patent medicine that he claimed could cure everything from heart palpitations to neurological disorders. Promoting the stuff with the slogan “pink pills for pale people,” he made enough money to build a huge mansion on Brockville’s eastern edge, near the St. Lawrence River. Now run by the Ontario Heritage Trust as the Fulford Place museum, the home offers a glimpse into late Victorian and early Edwardian life. (In a sad side note, Fulford is also believed to have been the first Canadian to die in an automobile accident.) Even if you don’t visit the museum, the various grand homes lining the river near Fulford’s mansion are lovely to just drive past.

Cars, frying pans and Stetson hats

Speaking of old-time entrepreneurs from Brockville: the Brockville Museum has a great permanent exhibition celebrating the city’s history of making everything from frying pans to Stetson hats. Another permanent display delves into the city’s short but busy period of automobile manufacturing.

Breakfast on an island

Each June, an enthusiastic group organizes the Island Breakfast on Refugee Island, a five-morning event that involves shuttling merry-makers to a small island in the St. Lawrence for a big breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, strawberries and more, livened up with live music.

Great places to stay in Brockville

The city is close enough to Ottawa for day trips, but if you want to make a weekend of it, the Sir Isaac Brock B&B Luxury Suites is a great place to stay overnight. Hosts Ida and David Duc have two spacious guest rooms, each with an ensuite and a separate sitting room, in their 1824 Georgian mansion. They’re charming hosts and serve a lovely hot breakfast—don’t miss the homemade jam. And check out their wonderful antiques collections, too.

Another fun place to stay is The Noble Suites, a quirky inn right downtown. After you book, you’ll receive the code to the front door lock. This spot is totally self-catering; there’s no front desk and no meal service, although you can contact the owner if you run into any snags. The place is peppered with sometimes-hilarious signs explaining where to find items you might need or providing details on the house’s history. And if you need room to roam, I recommend the two-bedroom Senator’s Suite, which features a full kitchen, a deck, a manor-sized dining table and a huge chandelier, and easily sleeps six.

To book a place to stay in Brockville, use the map below. (If you do book a spot, I’ll receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you.)

Looking for more tips on things to see and do in Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais, northern New York state and beyond? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your Weekend Getaway Guide.

As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.