Canadian POW camps via the railway. It was near Smiths Falls that German soldier Oberleutnant Franz von Werra jumped from a POW train and escaped to the United States, eventually reaching his homeland. Von Werra was, reputedly, the only escaped Axis POW to successfully return home during the war and his story was told in the book and film entitled The One That Got Away. The North American première of the film occurred on Thursday, 6 March 1958 at the Soper Theatre in Smiths Falls. Both the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian Northern (later part of Canadian National) had established stations in the town, however, with the creation of Via Rail, the CN station was abandoned and all passenger traffic routed through the CPR station until a new Smiths Falls railway station opened in 2010. The CN station has been renovated and is now home to the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario. The railway station, along with the nearby railway bascule bridge, comprise the town's two National Historic Sites of Canada. The Cataraqui Trail now follows the former CN railbed southwest from Smiths Falls, starting from a parking lot at the end of Ferrara Drive. Local government The town's council includes a mayor and six councillors. The members of council elected as of the 2018 municipal election are: Mayor: Shawn Pankow Councillors: Peter McKenna Christopher McGuire Niki Dwyer Lorraine Allen Wendy Alford Jay Brennan Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Smiths Falls had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Economy The town is on the Rideau Canal system for recreational boating, and is served by the Smiths Falls-Montague Airport (Russ Beach) for general aviation. It is also a major railway junction point, and its station receives regular passenger service to Ottawa and Toronto from Via Rail. Several manufacturers were based in Smiths Falls, perhaps the best-known being the Canadian operation of The Hershey Company (opened in 1963) which closed in December 2008. Hershey announced they would instead open a factory in Mexico, where they could obtain cheaper labour. In late 2006, the plant was temporarily closed due to a case of possible salmonella contamination. Other former large manufacturers include RCA Victor (closed circa 1980), Frost and Wood /