Lieutenant Christopher James Bell, R.N. 1795-1836
A pioneer of the Ottawa Valley lumber industry, Bell had commanded H.M. gunboat "Murray" at the battle of Plattsburg on Lake Champlain in 1814. Emigrating to Upper Canada about 1817, he was granted 325 ha of land, partly located here at the "first chute" of the Bonnechere River. By 1829 he had built a timber slide and sawmill, in the vicinity of which there grew up the hamlet of "Castleford", named for Bell's birthplace in Yorkshire. The name was later transferred to the present settlement on the Ottawa River. As magistrate, commissioner of the court of requests, land agent and postmaster, Bell played an active role in the development of Renfrew County.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.