Pembroke is a city in the province of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, at the confluence of the Muskrat River

Muskrat River

The Muskrat River is a river in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada that flows into the Ottawa River at the city of Pembroke.-Course:The river begins at Edmunds Lake, one of the Champlain Trail Lakes and near the community of Garden of Eden, and heads northwest through other Champlain Trail lakes to...

 and the Ottawa River

Ottawa River

The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...

 in the Ottawa Valley

Ottawa Valley

The Ottawa Valley is the valley along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec along the Ottawa River. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield...

. Pembroke is the seat of Renfrew County, though it is politically independent

Independent city

An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...

.
The first European settler to the area now known as Pembroke was Daniel Fraser in 1823, who squatted on land that was discovered to have been granted to a man named Abel Ward. Ward later sold the land (where Moncion's Grocers is located) to Fraser, and nearby Fraser Street is named after the family.
Peter White

Peter White

Peter White, PC was a Canadian parliamentarian.White was born into a family that had established its homestead at the junction of the Muskrat and Ottawa Rivers where the town of Pembroke, Ontario was soon established...

, a veteran of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 arrived in 1828, squatting beside Fraser on the land where Dairy Queen is now located.