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 May 03, 2024

Ontario County was the name of two historic counties in the Canadian province of Ontario. Both counties were located in approximately the same area and existed on-and-off between 1792 and 1974. Their primary modern successor is the Regional Municipality of Durham, though certain parts of them were transferred to other surrounding regions.

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 (1852–1974)

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 centres: 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 45 km (28 mi) east of Toronto, and it is known as a commuter suburb in the Durham Region, east of 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.

Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada, immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region.

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.

Scugog is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, south-central Ontario, Canada. It is northeast of Toronto and just north of Oshawa. The anchor and largest population base of the township is Port Perry. The township has a population of roughly 22,500. A smaller Scugog Township was also a historic municipality and geographic township prior to the amalgamation that formed the current municipality.

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.

Beaverton is a community in Brock Township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada.

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.

Wentworth County, area 269,057 acres (1,089 km²), is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welland County</span> Historic county in Ontario, Canada

Welland County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario.

Durham is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1968 and since 1988.

Ontario North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1925. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867.

Ontario was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1997. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1924 from Ontario South riding.

Cannington is a community in Brock Township, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. The town is on the Beaver River.

The history of Markham, Ontario dates back several millennia. What would become Markham, Ontario was home to First Nations long before European settlement. Seasonal settlements were found from 900 BC to 1650, but traces of these first residence were buried before the area was farmed.

The amalgamation of Toronto was the creation of the city limits of Toronto, Ontario, Canada after amalgamating, annexing, and merging with surrounding municipalities since the 18th century. The most recent occurrence of amalgamation was in 1998, which dissolved the federation of Metropolitan Toronto and its constituent municipalities, and created the current "megacity" of Toronto.

<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.

Pickering Village is a former municipality and now a neighbourhood in the town of Ajax, within the Durham Region of Ontario, Canada. The Pickering Village derives its name from the former Pickering Township, which included the present-day town of Ajax and the city of Pickering. A small portion of the original settlement is now part of the Village East neighbourhood in the city of Pickering.

Lynde Creek is a stream in the municipalities of Whitby and Scugog, Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It is in the Great Lakes Basin, is a tributary of Lake Ontario, and is under the auspices of the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority. The creek begins on the Oak Ridges Moraine in geographic Reach Township in the municipality of Scugog, and flows south to its mouth in the southwest of the town of Whitby. Portions of the 132.19-square-kilometre (51.04 sq mi) watershed also extend into the town of Ajax, the city of Pickering and the municipality of Uxbridge.

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. ISBN 9780665124525.
↑ Farewell, John Edwin (1907). Ontario County: A Short Sketch of Its Settlement, Physical Features and Resources. Whitby: Gazette-Chronicle Press.

External links

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. ISBN 9780665124525.

[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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