East Garafraxa is a rural township

Township (Canada)

The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. However in some systems no town needs to be involved. The specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semi-rural government within the county...

 in Dufferin County

Dufferin County, Ontario

Dufferin County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is Orangeville, and the current Warden is Deputy Mayor Warren Maycock of the Town of Orangeville, Ontario. The Current Chief Administrative Officer is Linda J. Dean...

, 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...

, to the west of Orangeville

Orangeville, Ontario

Orangeville is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County.-History:Before European settlers, Orangeville was thought to be a native hunting ground...

 and within relative commuting distance of Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Brampton

Brampton

Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.Brampton may also refer to:- Canada :* Brampton, a city in Ontario** Brampton GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the city- United Kingdom :...

, Guelph

Guelph

Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...

, and Kitchener

Kitchener, Ontario

The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...

.

The township includes the population centres of Marsville and Orton.

While it is unknown how the name "Garafraxa" came to be, there are a number of theories to its origins:

• It is derived from an Indian word meaning "panther country"
• Commemorating an old Irish
  Ireland
  Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
  
   estate
  Estate (house)
  An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
  
   or castle
  Castle
  A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
  
  
• From the beloved Scottish
  Scotland
  Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
  
   stream, the Garry
  River Garry
  The River Garry in Invernessshire is 3.5 miles long, and runs into Loch Oich just east of the village of Invergarry, through which it runs. It is the homeland of the MacDonell branch of Clan MacDonald and is the near the site of the 17th century Invergarry Castle. The village and the river can be...
  
  
• From Gaelic
  Scottish Gaelic language
  Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
  
   fraoch garbh meaning "rough heath"
• From local botany Saxifrage
  Saxifrage
  Saxifraga is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 440 species of Holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages. The Latin word saxifraga means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin + ...
  
   or Sassafras
  Sassafras
  Sassafras is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.-Overview:...
  
  
• Old English
  Old English language
  Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
  
   word gara or gar means either a small triangular piece of land or cloth as in a sail, and the Township could be considered part fracta of the Gore
  Gore (road)
  A gore, gore point, or gore zone is a triangular piece of land found where roads merge or split. When two roads merge, the area is sometimes referred to as a merge nose...
  
  , or Gara

East Garafraxa is known for, among other things, its scenic spots, and many people go there to escape from the city.

Demographics

Population trend:

• Population in 2006: 2389 (2001 to 2006 population change: 7.9 %)
• Population in 2001: 2214
• Population in 1996: 2084
• Population in 1991: 2002

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 773 (total dwellings: 820)