Brighton is a town in Northumberland County,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, approximately east of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and west of Kingston. It is traversed by both

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provin ...

and the former Highway 2. The west end of the

Murray Canal The Murray Canal is a canal in the municipalities of Quinte West and Brighton, Ontario, Canada, and runs from the western end of the Bay of Quinte to Presqu'ile Bay on Lake Ontario. It is approximately in length and has maximum depth of . The ...

that leads east to the

Bay of Quinte The Bay of Quinte () is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of ...

is at the east end of the town. Brighton later developed into primarily an agricultural community, specializing in the farming of apples and production of new apple types. However, in recent years, many of the original orchards in the area have been partially removed, to make way for the steadily growing population, and more profitable agricultural produce, such as wheat, corn and soybeans. In late September, Brighton is host to Applefest, its largest yearly festival. The Municipality of Brighton (formed on January 1, 2001, through an amalgamation of the former Town of Brighton and Brighton Township) is home to over 11,000 inhabitants, with a higher than average percentage of those retired. This is common, as the quiet, clean and friendly atmosphere of many smaller towns near Lake Ontario tend to draw the elderly as popular places for retirement living.

Presqu'ile Provincial Park Presqu'ile Provincial Park is a park in southeastern Northumberland County on the north shore of Lake Ontario near the town of Brighton in Ontario, Canada. The park occupies an area of . The name of the park is the French word for peninsula, or ...

, just south of the town centre, is one of Brighton's most popular attractions. The park is noted for

bird-watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

and other nature-oriented activities.

Memory Junction Railway Museum The Memory Junction Railway Museum preserved a collection of railway memorabilia in southeastern Ontario. It closed in 2017 and its collections were auctioned in 2021. It was located in the former Grand Trunk Railway station of Brighton, Ontario, ...

, located in a former Grand Trunk station, has a collection of rail equipment and memorabilia.

Communities

Besides the town proper of Brighton, the municipality of Brighton comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communities such as Carman, ''Codrington'', ''Hilton'', Spring Valley, ''Smithfield'' (partially); ''Butler Creek'', ''Cankerville'', ''Cedar Creek'', ''Gosport'', ''Orland'', ''Presqui'le Point'', ''Wade Corners''.

History

The village of Brighton was incorporated on January 1, 1859. On December 1, 1980, it became a town. The original Simpson house, at 61 Simpson Street, was built in 1850.

The artificial island area of Brighton

Part of the current Municipality of Brighton is on a separate artificial island. This is a consequence of the borders chosen when the Township of Brighton was created in 1851, and the excavation of the Murray Canal across the historic Isthmus of Murray. The

opened in 1889.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Brighton had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Notable residents

Eddie Hayward Edward C. Hayward (February 13, 1903 – January, 1983) was a Canadian-born trainer in American Thoroughbred horse racing best known for winning the 1953 Kentucky Derby in which his colt Dark Star defeated Native Dancer. Racing career A nat ...

, racehorse trainer who won the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

* Mark Kellogg,

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

correspondent killed at the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

Gail Vaz-Oxlade Gail Vaz-Oxlade (born June 18, 1959) is a Jamaican-Canadian financial writer and television personality who lives in Brighton, Ontario, Canada. Vaz-Oxlade hosts the Canadian television series ''Til Debt Do Us Part'', ''Princess'' and, most recent ...

, financial writer and television personality. Host of the Slice series ''

Til Debt Do Us Part ''Til Debt Do Us Part'' (also stylized as Til Debt Do U$ Part'') is a Canadian television series produced by Frantic Films for Slice in Canada, Zone Reality in the United Kingdom and CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Busines ...

'' and''

Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

''.

Media

* Brighton Independent (Metroland Media Group) *Oldies 100.9 (My Broadcasting) *Edville Gazette (Independently Published)https://www.edvillegazette.com/

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places on Lake Ontario in Canada Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in Northumberland County, Ontario