Ontario County, Ontario

Ontario County
Ontario County
Dissolved County
	Ontario County Map (1877)
	Coordinates: 43°55′N78°56′W / 43.917°N 78.933°W
Federal (1867-present) ; British Colony (1852-1867)	Canada ; United Provinces of Canada
Province	Ontario (1867-present) ; Canada West (1852-1867)
Established	1852 (created from York County)
Dissolved	1974 (reorganized into the Regional Municipality of Durham)
Seat	Whitby
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)

Ontario County
Ontario County
County
	Coordinates: 43°55′N78°56′W / 43.917°N 78.933°W
Colonial territories	British North America
Colony	Upper Canada
Established	1792
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)

Last updated March 20, 2023

Ontario County was the name of two historic counties in the Canadian province of Ontario and pre-Confederation

Ontario County (1792–1800)

The original Ontario County, located in the Midland District, was constituted in 1792 as an electoral district for the new Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada:

... which county is to consist of the following islands: an island at present known by the name of isle Tonti, to be called Amherst island; an island known by the name of isle au Forest, to be called Gage island; an island known by the name of Grand island, to be called Wolfe island; an island known by the name of isle Cauchois, to be called Howe island; and to comprehend all the islands between the mouth of the Gananoque to the easternmost extremity of the late township of Marysburgh, called point Pleasant.^[1]

In 1798, the Parliament of Upper Canada dissolved the county, and redistributed its territory to the following electoral counties and townships, effective at the beginning of 1800:^[2]

County	Territory	Disposition
Frontenac	Howe Island, and so much of the present county of Ontario as is wholly, or in greater part opposite to the present township of Pittsburg	part of the township of Pittsburg
Frontenac	Wolfe Island and Gage Island, and so much of the said county of Ontario as is wholly, or in greater part opposite to the present township of Kingston	formation of the township of Wolfe Island
Lennox and Addington	the residue of the said county of Ontario	formation of the township of Amherst Island

Ontario County (1852–1973)

On January 1, 1852 the old County of York was divided into three counties (York, Ontario and Peel); however they remained united.^[3] On January 1, 1854 Ontario County separated and became its own independent county, with the support of Peter Perry of Whitby.^[3] The population in 1854 was 30,000 and the first County Warden was Thomas N. Gibbs.^[4]

It was replaced by the Regional Municipality of Durham effective January 1, 1974.

Original townships

Brock, area 66,120 acres (268 km²) Surveyed in 1817. Community centres: Cannington, Vroomanton, Pinedale, Sunderland, Wick.
Mara, area 62,115 acres (251 km²). Surveyed in part in 1820; the survey was completed in 1836. The Township might have been named in honour of Gertrud Elisabeth Mara, or for the Spanish word for sea. Community centres were: Gamebridge, Brechin, Atherley, Udney and Rathburn.
Pickering, area 72,049 acres (292 km²). Opened in 1792 and first called Edinburgh it was renamed after the English town in Yorkshire. Community centres: Pickering, Dunbarton, Green River, Balsam, Claremont, Brougham, Altona.
Rama, area 37,769 acres (153 km²). Opened in 1820. Rama is the Spanish name for the branch of a tree. Surveyed in 1834 and 1855. The area was first settled by retired British officers, but they ran into difficulties with the Bank of Upper Canada. The Bank sold the land to the Indian Department and the Ojibwe First Nations at Orillia were removed to a village built for them in 1838. Community centres: Floral Park, Longford Mills, Cooper's Falls, Washago.
Reach area 63,144 acres (256 km²) Opened in 1809 and named after the village in Bedfordshire, England. Community centres: Port Perry, Manchester, Saintfield, Utica.
Scott area 49,291 acres (199 km²). Opened in 1820. Believed to be named after Thomas Scott, Chief Justice of Upper Canada from 1806 to 1816. Community centres: Zephyr, Sandford, Leaskdale, Udora.
Thorah, area 32,468 acres (131 km²) Opened in 1820 and named form the Hebrew word signifying the inspired Law, the Pentateuch. Community centers: Beaverton.
Uxbridge, area 51,969 acres (210 km²) Opened in 1798 and named after the English town. Early settlers included Pennsylvania Quakers. New Yorkers settled in 1806. Community Centres: Uxbridge, Goodwood.
Whitby, Area 31,386 acres (127 km²). Opened in 1792 and named for an English seaport. Community centres: Oshawa, Whitby, Brooklin, Ashburn and Myrtle.

The Town of Oshawa was also located in the county.

In 1855 the Town of Whitby was incorporated in part of Whitby Township. Scugog Township was formed from a portion of Reach Township and Cartwright Township in adjoining Northumberland and Durham County in 1856. And in 1858, the Township of East Whitby was formed from the eastern portion of Whitby Township.

A number of villages were also incorporated as separate municipalities in the county after it was created: Port Perry in 1871, Uxbridge in 1872, Cannington in 1878 and Beaverton in 1884. In the 20th century, the wartime town of Ajax, located in Pickering Township, was incorporated as an improvement district in 1950. It became a town in 1955. The Village of Pickering was incorporated as a village in 1953.

On January 1, 1974, the portion of Ontario County south of the Trent–Severn Waterway and about half of adjacent Durham County were amalgamated as the Regional Municipality of Durham. The remaining portions of Durham County were transferred to other neighbouring counties, and the portion of Ontario County north of the Trent–Severn Waterway (Rama and Mara Townships) was transferred to Simcoe County. In addition, the part of Pickering Township west of the Rouge River (West Rouge and Port Union) was transferred to the Borough of Scarborough in the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. At this time Ontario and Durham counties were dissolved.

Whitby served as the "County Town" or county seat and as such was the location for the county offices, courthouse and land registry office. It continues in this role for Durham Region today.

Related Research Articles

Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Ajax and west of Oshawa, on the north shore of Lake Ontario and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region. It had a population of 138,501 at the 2021 census. It is approximately 20 km (12 mi) east of the eastern border of Toronto, and it is known as a commuter suburb in the Greater Toronto Area. While the southern portion of Whitby is predominantly urban and an economic hub, the northern part of the municipality is more rural and includes the communities of Ashburn, Brooklin, Myrtle, Myrtle Station, and Macedonian Village.

The Regional Municipality of Durham, informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, Durham forms the east-end of the Greater Toronto Area and part of the Golden Horseshoe region. It has an area of approximately 2,500 km² (970 sq mi). The regional government is headquartered in Whitby.

Uxbridge is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham in south-central Ontario, Canada.

Brock is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. Brock Township is also a former municipality and geographic township prior to the amalgamation that formed the current municipality.

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Ramara is a lower-tier township municipality in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada.

Durham County is an historic county in Ontario, Canada. It was named for the English County Durham and city of Durham. It was created in 1792 but was later merged Northumberland County to form the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham. In 1974, the two counties were split and reorganized, with the former portions of Durham County reorganized into the Regional Municipality of Durham.

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Sunderland is a community located approximately 100 km northeast of Toronto, Ontario in Brock Township, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. This is currently one of the very few populated areas of the Greater Toronto Area where the Trans Canada Highway passes near, thus also making this the closest point from the highway to the City of Toronto at 100 kilometres (62 mi) apart.

The Durham District School Board is a public school board in the province of Ontario, Canada. The board serves most of the Regional Municipality of Durham, except for schools within the Municipality of Clarington, which instead belong to the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. The Durham District School Board Education Centre head office is based in Whitby.

King's Highway 12, commonly referred to as Highway 12 and historically known as the Whitby and Sturgeon Bay Road, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway connects the eastern end of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with Kawartha Lakes, Orillia and Midland before ending at Highway 93. It forms the Central Ontario Route of the Trans-Canada Highway system from north of Sunderland to Coldwater. Highway 12 connects several small towns along its 146 km (91 mi) route, and bypasses a short distance from many others. It is signed as a north–south route between Whitby and Orillia, and as an east–west route from there to Midland. The rural portions of the highway feature a posted speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph), often dropping to 50 km/h (31 mph) through built-up areas. The entire route is patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitby Township</span>

Whitby Township is a geographic township and former municipality in what was Ontario County, Ontario, Canada. It is now part of the Town of Whitby.

Thorah Township is a former municipality that today is a geographic township in the municipality of Brock, Regional Municipality of Durham in Central Ontario, Canada.

References

Province of Ontario -- A History 1615 to 1927 by Jesse Edgar Middleton & Fred Landon, copyright 1927, Dominion Publishing Company, Toronto

↑ Proclamation of July 16, 1792
↑ An act for the better division of this province , S.U.C. 1798, c. 5, s. 11-15
1 2 Beers, J.H. (1877). Illustrated historical atlas of the county of Ontario. Toronto: J.H. Beers & Co.
↑ Farewell, John Edwin (1907). Ontario County: A Short Sketch of Its Settlement, Physical Features and Resources. Whitby: Gazette-Chronicle Press.

External links

Coordinates: 44°15′N79°00′W / 44.250°N 79.000°W / 44.250; -79.000

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[1] Proclamation of July 16, 1792

[2] An act for the better division of this province , S.U.C. 1798, c. 5, s. 11-15

[Atlas-3] 1 2 Beers, J.H. (1877). Illustrated historical atlas of the county of Ontario. Toronto: J.H. Beers & Co.

[Short-4] Farewell, John Edwin (1907). Ontario County: A Short Sketch of Its Settlement, Physical Features and Resources. Whitby: Gazette-Chronicle Press.

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