Peterborough County is a county and census division located in Southern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is the City of Peterborough, which is independent of the county.

The southern section of the county is mix of agriculture, urban and lakefront properties. The northern section of the county is mostly sparsely populated wilderness, with numerous rivers and lakes mostly within Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park.

The county contains the Kawarthas, a major tourist region.

History

Origins and evolution In 1615, Samuel de Champlain was one of the first western explorers who traveled through the area, coming down from Lake Chemong and portaging down a trail, which is approximated by present-day Chemong Road, to the Otonabee River and stayed for a brief time near the present-day site of Bridgenorth, just north of Peterborough.

The area was initially part of Northumberland County, which was formed by proclamation of the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe in 1792,Proclamation, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, July 16, 1792; reprinted in Statutes of the Province of Upper Canada; Together with Such British Statutes, Ordinances of Quebec, and Proclamations, as Relate to the Said Province (Kingston: F. M. Hill, 1831), p. 24. and defined by statute in 1798.An act for the better division of this province, SUC 1798 (38 Geo. III), c. 5, s. 19. Reprinted in The Statutes of Upper Canada to the Time of Union, Revised and Published by Authority, Vol. I - Public Acts (Toronto: Robert Stanton, Queen's Printer, 1843). In 1802, Northumberland was included in the Newcastle District. In 1841, the northern part of the District was detached to form the Colborne District, with the northern portion of Northumberland county made into the new County of Peterborough., implemented by the Proclamation of October 14, 1841 It consisted of the following territory:

+ Organization of the Colborne District (1841)1837 Act, s. 1County of PeterboroughThe townships of

Belmont Methurn Burleigh Dummer Asphodel Otonabee Douro Smith Ennismore Harvey Verulam Emily Ops Fenelon Mariposa Eldon Bexley Somerville

and the seven rear concessions of Monaghan the unsurveyed lands in rear thereof, and the Islands lying wholly or in greater part opposite thereto...

The county was named in honor of Col. Peter Robinson, who in 1825 brought 2,000 settlers from Ireland. The route taken was by way of Port Hope, Rice Lake and the Otonabee River, the same route used by the first settlers that entered this region in 1818.

The centre of the County was originally the courthouse, which is still considered an important historical site.

In 1851, Peterborough County was divided into the counties of Peterborough and Victoria, which were united for municipal purposes as the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria.

+ Townships forming the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria (1851) County of Peterborough County of Victoria Belmont Methuen Burleigh Dummer Harvey Douro Smith Monaghan North Asphodel Ennismore Otonabee Mariposa Ops Emily Eldon Fenelon Bexley Verulam Somerville

A plebiscite was authorized in 1856 to facilitate the creation of a provisional county council for Victoria, but, as the united counties council delayed conducting it, a further Act was passed in 1861 to compel its being held, following which the provisional council was formed. and its formal separation took place in 1863.

Further townships were surveyed, thus extending the reach of the County northwards. In 1874, the townships of Bruton, Cardiff, Dysart, Dudley, Glamorgan, Guilford, Harburn, Harcourt, Minden, Monmouth, Snowden and Stanhope were withdrawn from the County and transferred to the new Provisional County of Haliburton.

After the transfer of the northern townships to Haliburton, the remainder of the County consisted of the following:

+ Townships forming the County of Peterborough (1874) Townships Area Opened DescriptionAsphodel1821Named after the Greek word for lily.Belmont and MethuenArea 1823By 1842 it had only 33 householders; in 1866 only 185. Townships were mainly rock, lake and stream.Burleigh and Anstruther1861First Post Office was called Burleigh. Separated from Dummer Township in 1865.Chandos1862Named after the Duke of Buckingham and ChandosDouro1821Named after the Battle of Douro in the Peninsular War.Dummer1821Named in honor of William Dummer Powell, Chief Justice of Upper Canada. A Colony of immigrants came in 1831, of whom 150 were sent out by the Marquess of Bath.Ennismore1829Named in honor of William Hare, Viscount Ennismore, formerly M.P. for Cork City in the Parliament of Ireland, who died in 1827. Originally it was called Emily Gore.Galway and Cavendish1857/1862Harvey1821Named after Sir John Harvey, Deputy Adjutant General in Canada during the War of 1812. Was part of Smith township until 1866. First settler were retired officers who come in 1832, but did not succeed.North Monaghan1820Otonabee1820Named after the Otonabee River. The word in the Ojibwe language signifies a delta.Smith1819Settled by Allen Otty.

The Town of Peterborough became a City in 1905, and was subsequently withdrawn from the County for municipal purposes.

In 1974, as a result of the creation of the Regional Municipality of Durham, the township of Cavan and the village of Millbrook were withdrawn from Durham County, and the township of South Monaghan was withdrawn from Northumberland County, to be transferred to Peterborough County.

Current municipalities As a consequence of the Common Sense Revolution in Ontario, the County was restructured into the following municipalities during the period 1997-2004:

Township of Asphodel-Norwood Township of Cavan-Monaghan Township of Douro-Dummer Township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Township of North Kawartha Township of Otonabee-South Monaghan Township of Selwyn Municipality (Township) of Trent Lakes

Two First Nations reserves are independent of county administration:

Curve Lake First Nation 35 Hiawatha First Nation

Demographics

+ Panethnic groups in Peterborough County (2001−2021)Panethnicgroup20212016201120062001 European 128,150 123,010 123,080 124,165 117,560 Indigenous 7,095 6,160 4,810 4,145 3,085 South Asian 3,030 1,565 885 680 965 East Asian 1,630 1,395 955 1,060 815 African 1,620 1,005 785 625 500 Southeast Asian 1,270 870 590 295 260 Middle Eastern 855 435 310 190 120 Latin American 530 245 240 265 140 Other 660 405 255 95 160 Total responses 144,840 135,075 131,930 131,520 123,600 Total population 147,681 138,236 134,928 133,080 125,856

Major places Cities

Peterborough, Ontario

Towns/Villages Buckhorn, Ontario Lakefield, Ontario Norwood, Ontario Havelock, Ontario Douro, Ontario Apsley, Ontario Millbrook, Ontario Bridgenorth, Ontario

Media In 1994, the Connection newspaper (previously known as Causeway Connection) established in Selwyn in central Peterborough County. The free monthly cottage country newspaper is distributed by mail, providing non-partisan news and information. The Connection is expanding both its distribution areas and internet presence.

See also List of municipalities in Ontario List of townships in Ontario List of secondary schools in Ontario#Peterborough County

Notes

References

External links