Victoria County, Ontario
Encyclopedia
The County of Victoria, or Victoria County, was a county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

 in the Canadian
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...

 province of 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....

. It was formed in 1854 as The United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria, and gained independence in 1863. In 2001, the county was dissolved and reformed as the city of Kawartha Lakes
Kawartha Lakes
The city of Kawartha Lakes is a unitary municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Although called a city, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontarian county and is mostly rural....

. Though first opened to settlement in 1821, the area that was encompassed by Victoria County has a history of Indian occupation, first by the Huron's, and

History

The history of Victoria County began with the passing of a Constitutional Act
Constitutional Act of 1791
The Constitutional Act of 1791, formally The Clergy Endowments Act, 1791 , is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain...

 in 1791, dividing Canada into two provinces: Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

 (present day Ontario) and Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

 (present day Québec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

); and appointing a governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 for each.
The first governor of Upper Canada was Colonel John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...

, who surveyed
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

 the province and set out tracts of land to immigrants with genuine interests.
Before the land that became Victoria County could be surveyed, however, speculators had him removed from office in 1796, and the land was secured from settlement for over 20 years.

Following the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, a large wave of immigration prompted the province to purchase more land from local Indian tribes. On November 5, 1818, six Mississauga chiefs, Buckquaquet of the Eagles, Pishikinse of the Reindeers, Paudash of the Cranes, Cahgahkishinse of the Pike, Cahgageewin of the Snakes, and Pininse of the White Oaks, met in Port Hope
Port Hope, Ontario
Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County...

. There they surrendered the rights to over four thousand square kilometres of land,
known as the Mississauga Tract. In exchange, the Indians (Numbering about 400) were to receive $750 per year in goods. However, the government would later change this to $10 per year for each living person born before the deal was signed.

The Mississauga Tract included all of Victoria and Peterborough counties, as well as parts of 28 adjacent townships.
Following the purchase, the land became Newcastle County. It was renamed Colborne District in 1841, followed by being reorganized in 1850 as Peterborough County. In 1854, Peterborough County was again reorganized as the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria, the first time the land was officially named "Victoria County". Over the next decade, Victoria County gradually segregated from Peterborough County, gaining a provisional government
Provisional government
A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...

 in 1861, and finally independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....

 in 1863.

In 1973, Manvers Township
Manvers Township, Ontario
The Township of Manvers was a municipality in the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario....

 was transferred from Durham County (Now the regional municipality of Durham) to Victoria County as a result of the restructuring of several county governments.

On January 1, 2001, Victoria County was dissolved, and its townships and incorporated communities were amalgamated into a single-tier municipality named Kawartha Lakes, a name chosen because of the prominence of the lakes in the geography of the region.

Townships

Victoria County consisted of 13 separate townships and 6 incorporated villages with their own local governments:
Population centers are listed in parenthesis
  • Bexley
    Bexley Township, Ontario
    The Township of Bexley was a municipality located in the northern half of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario.-History:...

    (Victoria Road, Coboconk)
  • Carden
    Carden Township, Ontario
    The Township of Carden was a municipality in the north-west corner of Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario.-Geography:...

    (Dalrymple)
  • Dalton
    Dalton Township, Ontario
    The Township of Dalton was a municipality located in the northwest corner of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was named after Dr...

    (Sebright, Uphill, Sadowa)
  • Eldon
    Eldon Township, Ontario
    The Township of Eldon was a municipality located in the west of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in Ontario, Canada.- Communities :*Kirkfield*Bolsover*Glenarm*Eldon*Woodville...

    (Glenarm)
  • Emily
    Emily Township, Ontario
    The Township of Emily was a municipality located in the south-eastern corner of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in Ontario, Canada.Emily Township is also home to Emily Provincial Park.- Communities :*Downeyville*Fee's Landing...

    (Downeyville, Fowlers Corners)
  • Fenelon
    Fenelon Township, Ontario
    The Township of Fenelon was a municipality located in the centre of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario...

    (Isaacs Glen, Powles Corners)
  • Laxton, Digby and Longford
    Laxton, Digby and Longford Township, Ontario
    The united Townships of Laxton, Digby and Longford were a municipality in the north of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes in the Canadian province of Ontario...

    (Uphill, Norland)
  • Longford (uninhabited)
  • Manvers
    Manvers Township, Ontario
    The Township of Manvers was a municipality in the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario....

    (Janetville, Bethany)
  • Mariposa
    Mariposa Township, Ontario
    The Township of Mariposa was a municipality located in the southwest corner of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario. The other municipal neighbors of Mariposa are Ops and Fenelon on the east, Eldon on the north, Brock on the west, and...

    (Oakwood, Little Britain, Manilla)
  • Ops
    Ops Township, Ontario
    The Township of Ops was a municipality located in the centre of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes. The township contained the communities of Reaboro and Fleetwood, and also surrounded the largest population centre in the county, Lindsay....

    (Reaboro)
  • Somerville
    Somerville Township, Ontario
    The Township of Somerville was a municipality located in the north-eastern corner of the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes.- Communities :*Burnt River*Kinmount*Union Creek*Baddow*Dongola...

    (Coboconk, Kinmount)
  • Verulam
    Verulam Township, Ontario
    The Township of Verulam was a rural municipality within the former Victoria County, now the city of Kawartha Lakes. It was bounded on the north by the geographic township of Somerville, the south by the geographic township of Emily, the west by the geographic township of Fenelon, and the east by...

    (Dunsford, Bobcaygeon)


The township of Laxton, Digby and Longford is an amalgamation of the once individual townships of Digby and Laxton, and half of the original Longford Township. The separate township of Longford is uninhabited, though dotted with abandoned logging towns.

Incorporated Communities

  • Town of Lindsay
    Lindsay, Ontario
    Lindsay is a community of 19,361 people on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately west of Peterborough...

  • Village of Bobcaygeon
    Bobcaygeon, Ontario
    Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent-Severn Waterway in the City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada.Bobcaygeon was incorporated as village in 1876, and became known as the "Hub of the Kawarthas"...

  • Village of Fenelon Falls
    Fenelon Falls, Ontario
    Fenelon Falls is a village in Ontario, Canada, part of the city of Kawartha Lakes. Nicknamed the "Jewel of the Kawarthas," it has a population of 1,800 permanent inhabitants, which swells in the summer due to tourism and cottaging. Fenelon Falls is home to lock 34 on the Trent-Severn Waterway...

  • Village of Omemee
    Omemee, Ontario
    Omemee is a community within the city of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada, formerly known as Victoria County. Omemee is one of the major communities in the Kawartha Lakes, as the proclaimed "city" is vastly rural and has but one major population centre...

  • Village of Sturgeon Point
  • Village of Woodville
    Woodville, Ontario
    Woodville is a community in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada. It is located west of Lindsay. Population is approx. 900.-History:Known in the late 19th century as Irish Corners, the name of the town was changed to Woodville after the completion of the post office under postmaster John Morrison...


Unincorporated Communities and Hamlets

  • Ancona Point
    Ancona Point, Ontario
    Ancona Point, Ontario is located in the former Township of Verulam, Ontario within the city of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada, and lies on Sturgeon Lake, along County Road 24 south-west of Bobcaygeon, Ontario...

  • Argyle
  • Avery Point
  • Baddow
  • Baker Trail
  • Ballyduff
  • Barclay
    Barclay, Ontario
    Barclay may refer to one of two southern Ontario communities:* Barclay, Innisfil near the western shore of Lake Simcoe* Barclay, Kawartha Lakes...

  • Bellevue
  • Bethany
    Bethany, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario
    Bethany is an unincorporated village in the Canadian province of Ontario, within the single-tier municipality of Kawartha Lakes. Bethany is centred on Highway 7A, which forms part of the Trans-Canada highway...

  • Bethel
  • Birch Point
  • Bobcaygeon
    Bobcaygeon, Ontario
    Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent-Severn Waterway in the City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada.Bobcaygeon was incorporated as village in 1876, and became known as the "Hub of the Kawarthas"...

  • Bolsover
    Bolsover, Ontario
    Bolsover is a village located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, west of the village of Kirkfield on County Road 48. The village is located to the south of Canal Lake.-Notable residents:...

  • Brunswick
  • Burnt River
    Burnt River, Ontario
    Burnt River is a hamlet located in the middle of the former Township of Somerville, in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada. The community is on the Burnt River.-History:...

  • Burton
  • Bury's Green
  • Cambray
  • Cameron
  • Camp Kagawong
  • Campbells Beach
  • Coboconk
    Coboconk, Ontario
    Coboconk is a community in the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the south-central portion of the Canadian province of Ontario. The village lies at the junction of Highway 35 and former Highway 48, on the northern tip of Balsam Lake, the highest point on the Trent–Severn Waterway...

  • Corsons
  • Cowan's Bay
  • Crawfords Beach
  • Cresswell
  • Crosshill
  • Cunningham's Corners
  • Dalrymple
    Dalrymple, Ontario
    -See also:*List of communities in Ontario...

  • Dartmoor
  • Daytonia Beach
  • Dunsford
  • East Emily
  • Eldon Station
    Eldon, Ontario
    Eldon, Ontario is a former stop on the Toronto and Nipissing Railway just west of Kirkfield, Ontario....

  • Fairburn Corner
  • Fee's Landing
  • Feir Mill
  • Fell Station
  • Fenelon Falls
    Fenelon Falls, Ontario
    Fenelon Falls is a village in Ontario, Canada, part of the city of Kawartha Lakes. Nicknamed the "Jewel of the Kawarthas," it has a population of 1,800 permanent inhabitants, which swells in the summer due to tourism and cottaging. Fenelon Falls is home to lock 34 on the Trent-Severn Waterway...

  • Fingerboard

  • Fleetwood
  • Fowler's Corners
  • Fox's Corners
  • Frank Hill
  • Franklin
  • Gilsons Point
  • Glamorgan
  • Glandine
  • Glenarm
    Glenarm, Ontario
    Glenarm is a community in the City of Kawartha Lakes of about 80 people. At one time the hamlet included a general store, restaurant, church, two taverns, a blacksmith shop, dance hall and a jail, although the general store has since closed. The church, Knox Presbytrian, used to have many people...

  • Glenway Village
  • Grasshill
  • Greenhurst-Thurstonia
  • Hickory Beach
  • Hillhead Corners
  • Horncastle
  • Hukish
  • Isaacs Glen
  • Janetville
  • Joyvista Estates
  • Kenedon Park
  • Krenrei
  • Kenstone Beach
  • Keystone Beach
  • King's Wharf
  • Kinmount
    Kinmount, Ontario
    Kinmount is a village with a population of approximately 500, located on the Burnt River in Ontario, Canada. The village is now part of the City of Kawartha Lakes. The village's hinterland covers large sections of both Haliburton and Peterborough counties for which it is a shopping and cultural...

  • Kirkfield
    Kirkfield, Ontario
    Kirkfield is a village located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario. The unincorporated village was named in 1864 after the initial name, Novar, was rejected by the government. A list of 8 possible choices was then offered. The village, being predominantly Scottish at...

  • Lake Dalrymple
  • Lancaster Bay
  • Lifford
  • Linden Valley
  • Lindsay
    Lindsay, Ontario
    Lindsay is a community of 19,361 people on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately west of Peterborough...

  • Little Britain
    Little Britain, Ontario
    Little Britain is a community in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada. It is located 15 km southwest of Lindsay. Formerly a part of Mariposa Township and Victoria County, Little Britain is now part of Ward 8, City of Kawartha Lakes.-History:...

  • Long Beach
  • Long Point
  • Lorneville
    Lorneville, Ontario
    Lorneville is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the city of Kawartha Lakes.-See also:*List of communities in Ontario...

  • Lotus
  • MacKenzie Point
  • Mallards Bay
  • Manilla
  • Manvers
  • Mariposa
  • McCrackin's Beach
  • McGuire Beach

  • Newmans Beach
  • Norland
    Norland, Ontario
    Norland is a small rural community located within the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario.It is located in a scenic spot on the Gull River at the north end of Shadow Lake, the northernmost Kawartha lake...

  • Oak Hill
  • Oakdene Point
  • Oakwood
  • O'Donnell Landing
  • Omemee
    Omemee, Ontario
    Omemee is a community within the city of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada, formerly known as Victoria County. Omemee is one of the major communities in the Kawartha Lakes, as the proclaimed "city" is vastly rural and has but one major population centre...

  • Orange Corners
  • Pickerel Point
  • Pleasant Point
  • Pontypool
    Pontypool, Ontario
    Pontypool is an unincorporated village within the southernmost part of the amalgamated city of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario.Prior to amalgamation, Pontypool was an unincorporated village within the township of Manvers, in the county of Victoria....

  • Port Hoover
  • Powles Corners
  • Reaboro
  • Red Cap Beach
  • Rohallion
  • Rokeby
    Rokeby, Ontario
    Rokeby, Ontario was the Government townsite located on the mainland at Bobcaygeon, Ontario, Canada, by the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, Sir John Colborne. Through common usage and the establishment of a Post Office in 1838, the name Bobcaygeon came to describe the entire town...

  • Rosedale
    Rosedale, Ontario
    Rosedale is an unincorporated village located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, partially in Fenelon Township and Somerville Township, Canada. It is home to Lock 35 of the Trent-Severn Waterway on Balsam Lake....

  • Sadowa
  • Sandy Point
  • Sebright
  • Silver Lake
  • Snug Harbour
  • Southview Estates
  • Sturgeon Point
  • Sullivan's Bay
  • Sylvan Glen Beach
  • Taylor's Corners
  • Tracey's Hill
  • Union Creek
  • Valentia
    Valentia, Ontario
    Valentia is a small community founded in 1807, located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, just south of the town of Lindsay on County Road 18 northeast of Lake Scugog. During its bicentennial celebrations in August, 2007, it held its first Valentia Heritage Rodeo.....

  • Verulam Park
    Verulam Park, Ontario
    Verulam Park is a park in the city of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario located at the end of Concession IV on the north shore of Sturgeon Lake. It was given for the enjoyment of the people of the Verulam Township by Colonel McAlpine, who lived in a large mansion nearby. The site also has a boat launch and...

  • Victoria Place
  • View Lake
  • Birch Point
  • Washburn Island
  • Watson's Siding
  • Woodville
    Woodville, Ontario
    Woodville is a community in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada. It is located west of Lindsay. Population is approx. 900.-History:Known in the late 19th century as Irish Corners, the name of the town was changed to Woodville after the completion of the post office under postmaster John Morrison...

  • Yelverton

Abandoned towns, post offices and church villages

  • Aros
  • Dongola
    Dongola, Ontario
    Dongola is an unincorporated community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the single-tier municipality of Kawartha Lakes. The former post-office village contains several households and no businesses. Today, Dongola is all but a ghost town...

  • Downeyville
  • Fleetwood Station
  • Hartley
  • Head Lake
    Head Lake, Ontario
    Head Lake is a community located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada, on Head Lake between Uphill and Norland ....

  • Islay
  • Mariposa Station
  • Mount Horeb
  • Palestine
  • Ragged Rapids
  • Uphill
  • St. Mary's
    St. Mary's, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario
    St. Mary's was the site of a planned village within early Victoria County, in the Canadian province of Ontario. The site was laid aside in the surveying of the county in the 1830s, but was later found to be unusable when limestone was discovered two inches below the ground...

  • Zion

Demographics

+ Census Canada
|-
! rowspan=2 | Township
! colspan=3 | Population> ! 1991
! 1996
! 2001> | Bexley
| 1,191
| 1,306
| 1,325> | Carden
| 781
| 887
| 888> | Dalton
| 423
| 442
| 474> | Eldon
| 2,669
| 2,956
| 3,087> | Emily
| 6,307
| 6,724
| 6,944> | Fenelon
| 5,710
| 5,931
| 6,240> | Laxton, Digby and Longford
| 1,086
| 1,114
| 1,052> | Manvers
| 5,166
| 5,624
| 5,830> | Mariposa
| 6,906
| 7,456
| 7,869> | Ops
| 4,027
| 4,311
| 4,955> | Somerville
| 2,045
| 2,238
| 2,241> | Verulam
| 3,982
| 4,373
| 4,313> ! colspan=4 | Incorporated areas> | Bobcaygeon
| 2,562
| 2,753
| 2,854> | Fenelon Falls
| 1,888
| 2,040
| 1,874> | Lindsay
| 16,696
| 17,638
| 16,930> | Lindsay census agglomeration (Ops including Lindsay)
| 20,723
| 21,949
| 21,885> | Omemee
| 1,103
| 1,271
| 1,319> | Sturgeon Point
| 110
| 111
| 107> | Woodville
| 680
| 751
| 871> ! colspan=4 | Total>
Kawartha Lakes 63,332 67,926 69,179
Ontario 10,084,885 10,753,573 11,410,046


The population is mostly rural, with only 34% living in urban areas.

Colonization Roads

Victoria county was first opened up to settlement in the 1821.
At this time, the primary routes for entering the county-to-be were narrow trails. Settlers were offered land on the condition that they help further the progress of concession roadss into the region. This was often met with the bare minimum, and progress was slow.

The Land Act of 1853 provided funding for the development of roads throughout the wilderness of Upper Canada. Grants were administered by the Department of Agriculture to survey and build the new roads. The roads followed the tradition of old Roman roads, and cut through the wilderness in a straight line, veering only when the terrain was impassible, but cutting through swamps and hills otherwise. Four primary roads were built: the Cameron Road, the Bobcaygeon Road, the Monck Road, and the Portage Road.

http://www.ontariogenealogy.com/Victoria/settleme.html
http://www.ontariogenealogy.com/Victoria/history/victoriacountypioneers2.html

The Cameron road, now mostly encompassed by Highway 35, provided access from Lake Ontario to the northern limits of Victoria;

The Bobcaygeon Road, begun in 1853, traversed north and south along the present-day eastern boundary of the region, and is mostly encompassed by former Highway 121
Ontario Highway 121
King's Highway 121, commonly referred to as Highway 121, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that was transferred to the counties in which it lay on January 1, 1998 and in 2003...

;

The Monck Road, which connected Lake Couchiching
Lake Couchiching
Lake Couchiching, from the Ojibwe gojijiing meaning "inlet", is a small lake in Central Ontario separated from Lake Simcoe by a narrow channel. The Trent-Severn Waterway enters Lake Simcoe by the Talbot River and exits this lake by the Severn River which empties into Georgian Bay...

 to Bancroft
Bancroft, Ontario
Bancroft is a town located on the York River in Hastings County in the Canadian province of Ontario.- History :In 1853 the first pioneer family settled in the area, and over the next 15 years the settlement grew quickly, as another 88 families followed...

, encompassed partially by former Highway 503
Ontario Highway 503
Highway 503 was a provincial secondary highway in Ontario, Canada, that existed between 1956 and 1998. Between 1956 and 1963, the highway stretched from Kirkfield to Sebright, and then along the Monck Road from Sebright to Kinmount, entirely within Victoria County...

, now City Road 45;

The Portage Road, connecting Lake Simcoe to Balsam Lake, encompassed entirely by former Highway 48
Ontario Highway 48
King's Highway 48, also known as Highway 48, is a provincially-maintained highway in southern Ontario that extends from Major Mackenzie Drive in Markham, through Whitchurch-Stouffville, to Highway 12 south-east of Beaverton, Ontario. Prior to 1998, Highway 48 extended from Highway 401 in Toronto to...

, now City Road 48
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