Maynooth is located just south of the Renfrew-Hastings boundary and has historically served as a regional service centre for northern settlers and loggers. Though not part of Renfrew County proper, it lies just beyond its southern edge and connects to the Ottawa Valley through the heritage corridor of Highway 62. It developed in the late 1800s along the Central Ontario Railway, and its layout reflects a mix of formal plans and adaptation to steep, rocky topography.

The town was named after Maynooth, Ireland, and featured a number of Irish and German settlers, many of whom came north via Bancroft or the Opeongo Road. It supported multiple churches, a sawmill, and small-scale mining activity in its early decades.

From a surveying perspective, Maynooth presents a hybrid environment of formal town plans, mining lot descriptions, and natural terrain deviations. Surveyors often contend with both registered and unregistered plans and must interpret the interplay between Crown patents and industrial subdivision overlays.