Southwold is a township in Elgin County

Elgin County, Ontario

Elgin County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario with a current population of approximately 46,000. The county seat is St. Thomas.It consists of:*Town of Aylmer*Municipality of Bayham*Municipality of Central Elgin...

, in 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...

, located on the north shore of Lake Erie

Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...

. It is a rich agricultural zone producing predominantly corn

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

 and soybeans.

History

Southwold was named in 1792 after Southwold

Southwold

Southwold is a town on the North Sea coast, in the Waveney district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the North Sea coast at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is around south of Lowestoft and north-east...

 in Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The municipality was incorporated in 1852.

Shedden's growth occurred when the Canada Southern Railway

Canada Southern Railway

The Canada Southern Railway was a railway in southern Ontario, Canada, founded on February 28, 1868 as the Erie and Niagara Extension Railway. It adopted the Canada Southern Railway name on December 24, 1869. In 1904 the railway was leased to the Michigan Central Railroad for 99 years; in 1929 it...

 was built, bypassing Fingal. Later it was joined by the Pere Marquette

Pere Marquette

Pere Marquette or Père Marquette may refer to:*Father Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary and namesake of Marquette University*Father Marquette National Memorial in Straits State Park...

 railway, still further boosting Shedden's importance. Both railways are now defunct. Talbotville is situated at the intersection of highways 3 & 4, two of the oldest roads in the region.

Southwold was the site of the 2006 Shedden massacre

Shedden massacre

The Shedden Massacre involved the killing of eight men, whose bodies were found in a farmer's field five kilometres north of Shedden, a hamlet in the Canadian province of Ontario, on April 8, 2006. Four vehicles, with the bodies inside, were first discovered by a farmer...

.

Economy

The township is home to the Green Lane Landfill site, a large dump recently purchased by the City 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...

. Waste from Toronto is expected to be shipped to the site in 2010. Southwold is also home of the Ford St. Thomas Assembly

St. Thomas Assembly

St. Thomas Assembly is an automobile plant in Talbotville, Ontario, Canada. The factory is located near St. Thomas. The facility, encompassing opened in 1967 building the Ford Falcon.The plant closed September 15, 2011...

 plant.

Communities

• Fingal
  Fingal, Ontario
  Fingal is a community near the north shore of Lake Erie 25 km west of St. Thomas Ontario, located within the township of Southwold in Elgin County. RCAF Station Fingal was a major centre for air force training at a large base during WW2, also Fingal has a variety store, a tire shop....
  
  
• Iona
• Iona Station
  Iona Station, Ontario
  Iona Station is a hamlet located on the border of Dutton-Dunwich and Southwold Townships, in Elgin County, Ontario, Canada.The "station" in the name was on the Canada Southern Railroad owned by the Michigan Central Railroad, later by the New York Central Railroad.The Canadian-American economist...
  
  
• Paynes Mills
• Shedden
  Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario
  Shedden, Ontario is a hamlet in Southwold Township, Elgin County in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is known as "The Rhubarb Capital of Ontario" and is home to the "Rosy Rhubarb Festival" which is held in early June each summer...
  
  
• Talbotville

Demographics

Population trend:

• Population in 2006: 4724
• Population in 2001: 4487
• Population in 1996: 4282 (or 4273 when adjusted to 2001 boundaries)
• Population in 1991: 4351