Editing Ontario, New York (section)

== History ==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}
The first settler was [[Freeman Hopkins]], who arrived in 1806 from [[Rhode Island]].  He built a small log cabin that had to hold his nine children, wife and himself.  Heavy timber and swamps made life difficult for the first settlers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ontario NY Wayne County History Early Settlers |url=https://wayne.nygenweb.net/ontario/cowlesontario.html |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=wayne.nygenweb.net}}</ref>

The town of Ontario was created in 1807 as the "Town of Freetown" from a part of the town of [[Williamson, New York|Williamson]].  Soon after, the name was changed to "Ontario". Part of Ontario was used to form the town of [[Walworth, New York|Walworth]] in 1829.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Town of Ontario Wayne County NY History Genealogy GenWeb |url=http://wayne.nygenweb.net/townships/ontario.html |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=wayne.nygenweb.net}}</ref>

In 1811, [[iron]] ore was discovered and a thriving smelting operation arose that lasted until past the end of the century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Great Iron Ore Odyssey by Donovan A. Shilling |url=https://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/101_135/124summer2002/124shilling.html |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=www.crookedlakereview.com}}</ref>

In 1874, the [[Lake Ontario Shore Railroad]] (now the [[Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad]]) was opened.

On June 1, 1970, the [[Ginna Nuclear Generating Station|Robert E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant]] started commercial operation on the shore of Lake Ontario within the town, just past the [[Monroe County, New York|Monroe County]] line.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Robert Emmett Ginna Nuclear Power Plant |url=http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2017/ph241/sebastian1/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=large.stanford.edu}}</ref>