Ontario County, Ontario

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ontario County was the name of two historic counties in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The original Ontario County existed from 1792 to 1800 as part of the Eastern District, and consisted of the islands in the St. Lawrence River. After 1800, Ontario County was dissolved and the islands were reassigned to the nearest mainland counties.

The second Ontario County (area 514,031 acres) was created in 1852 from the East Riding of York County. It was originally comprised the following townships:

Brock, (area 66,120 acres) Surveyed in 1817. Community centres: Cannington, Vroomanton, Pipedale, Wick.
Mara, (area 62,115 acres). Surveyed in part in 1820; the survey was completed in 1836. The Township was named (probably) in honour of Gertrud Elisabeth Mara, a famous singer in England. Community centres were: Gamebridge, Brechin,, Atherley, Udney and Rathburn.
Pickering, (area 72,049 acres). 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.
Rama, (area 37,769 acres). 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 however they ran into difficulties with the Bank of Upper Canada. The Bank sold the land to the Indian Department and the Ojibwa Indians at Orillia were removed to a village built for them in 1838.
Reach (area 63,144 acres) Opened in 1809 and named after the village in Bedfordshire, England. Community centres: Port Perry, Manchester, Saintfield, Utica.
Scott (area 49, 291 acres). 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.
Scugog Township (area 11,134 acres)
Thorah, (area 32,468 acres) Opened in 1820 and named form the Hebrew word signifying the inspired Law, the Pentateuch.
Uxbridge, (area 51,969 acres) Opened in 1798 and named after the English town. Early settlers included Pennsylvania Quakers. New Yorkers settled in 1806. Community Centers: Uxbridge, Goodwood.
Whitby, (Area 31,386 acres). Opened in 1792 and named for an English seaport. Community Centers : Whitby, Brooklyn, Ashburn and Myrtle.
East Whitby Township separated from Whitby in 1857. Community Centres: Oshawa, Columbus, Raylan, Harmony, Cedar Dale.

The Town of Oshawa was also located in the county.

1855 saw the incorporation of the Town of Whitby 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 the County was created; Port Perry in 1871, Uxbridge in 1872, Cannington in 1878 and Beaverton in 1884. In the twentieth-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.

Effective 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. At this time both 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.