Thames Centre, 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...

, is a municipality in Middlesex County

Middlesex County, Ontario

Middlesex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario. Landlocked, the county is bordered by Huron and Perth counties on the north, Oxford County on the east, Elgin County on the south, and Chatham-Kent and Lambton County on the west.The seat is the city of London, although the city...

, directly west of the City of London

London, Ontario

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

. It was formed on January 1, 2001, when the townships of West Nissouri and North Dorchester were amalgamated.

Thames Centre includes the Degree Confluence

Degree Confluence Project

The Degree Confluence Project is a World Wide Web-based all-volunteer project which aims to have people visit each of the integer degree intersections of latitude and longitude on Earth, posting photographs and a narrative of each visit online. Intersections are defined on the horizontal datum WGS...

 of 43N 81W.

Communities

Dorchester is the residential and commercial core of the township. Every year, there are many events held in Dorchester such as the Dorchester Fair, the Dorchester Car Show, the Donneybrook Dash, and Friday Night Tradition. The Donnybrook Fiddle and Step Dance Competition has become an annual event held at the fairgrounds every Civic Long Weekend. This event brings fiddlers and steppers from all over the province and the North Eastern United States. Also, scouts from all over Canada and the USA attend a camporee called the Dorchester International Brotherhood Camporee (DIBC). The camporee attracts as many as 4,000 scouts and girl guides from Canada and the US every year. The camp is held annually on Mothers Day weekend, with its 22nd installment set to take place in May 2011.
Dorchester is also home to the only high school in North America with the Beaver as their mascot, Lord Dorchester Secondary School

Lord Dorchester Secondary School

Lord Dorchester Secondary School is a Thames Valley District School Board Secondary School located in Dorchester, Ontario.Although small when compared to urban secondary schools, Lord Dorchester is larger than many rural-area schools. The student population hovers in the range of 500 to 600 students...

.

Smaller communities in the township include: Putnam, Avon, Belton, Cherry Grove, Crampton, Cobble Hill, Derwent, Devizes, Evelyn, Fanshawe Lake, Friendly Corners, Gladstone, Harrietsville, Kelly Station, Mossley, Nilestown, Oliver, Salmonville, Silvermoon, Thorndale, Three Bridges, and Wellburn.

Demographics

Population trend:

• Population in 2006: 13,085
• Population in 2001: 12,473
• Population total in 1996: 12,126
  • North Dorchester (township): 8665
  • West Nissouri (township): 3484
• Population in 1991:
  • North Dorchester (township): 7915
  • West Nissouri (township): 3277

External links

• Municipality of Thames Centre