East Zorra-Tavistock is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

in southwestern

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, formed on 1 January 1975 through the amalgamation of the Township of East Zorra and the Village of Tavistock. It is part of Oxford County. The township had a population of 7,129 in the

Canada 2016 Census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census ...

Communities

The township includes the population centres of Braemar, Cassel, East Zorra, Hickson, Huntingford, Innerkip, Perry Mine, Perrys Lane, Strathallan, Tavistock, Tollgate, Willow Lake, and Woodstock Airport. It also includes a portion of the hamlet of

Punkeydoodles Corners Punkeydoodles Corners is an unincorporated hamlet in southwestern Ontario, in Canada, known for its strange name and frequent sign theft. Although primarily located in the township of Wilmot, the hamlet also straddles the municipal boundaries with ...

, which straddles the municipal boundaries of East Zorra – Tavistock,

Wilmot Wilmot may refer to: Places Australia *Division of Wilmot, an abolished Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania *Wilmot, Tasmania, a locality in the North-West Region Canada *Wilmot, Nova Scotia, an unincorporated rural community and former to ...

and

Perth East The Township of Perth East is a municipality in Perth County, Ontario, Canada and situated north of Stratford. It was created in 1998 when the Ontario government amalgamated the village of Milverton with the surrounding former townships of El ...

Braemar

By 1869, Braemar was a village with a population of 75 in the Township of East Zorra, County Oxford. The average price of land was $25.

Hickson

Hickson is located at the intersection of Highway 59 and County Road 8, approximately north of

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

and south of Tavistock. Hickson was founded in 1876 when the town of Strathallen was bypassed by the new

Port Dover and Lake Huron Railway A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, which went in east of the anticipated location. A new village was created at the whistle-stop, and Strathallan slowly faded away as community members relocated, along with a few houses moved by the milk factory. The new village was named after Sir Joseph Hickson, the general manager of the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...

, who never saw the village in his lifetime. Curiously, the Hickson Centennial was celebrated erroneously in 1978 on unreliable information. In 1932, amid the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

(CN, the successor to the Grand Trunk) ended rail service and infrastructure maintenance on the line between Hickson and Tavistock Junction. This made Hickson the northern terminus of the line, which became known as the Hickson Subdivision. By the mid-1960s, CN had successfully applied to abandon the line to Hickson as well. The

right of way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

from Woodstock to Hickson more recently has been used for the Hickson Trail. Hickson has recently added a 4th street (2014) in addition to Highway 59, which is also known as Harwood Street: Lovey's Street (County Road 8), John Street, King Crescent & Borden Court. Hickson is home to Hickson Central Public School (elementary), a public park, the East-Zorra Tavistock township hall and volunteer fire department, a post office, and several small businesses.

Huntingford

Huntingford is on Hwy 59, between Oxford Road 33 and Braemar Sideroad.

Innerkip

The village of Innerkip is located approximately 10 kilometres North-East of Woodstock. Innerkip is home to Innerkip Central Public School (elementary), Woodstock Trinity Private School, the Innerkip Highlands Golf Course, a public park, a community centre and library, a volunteer fire department, a post office, and several small businesses.

Innerkip Quarry East Zorra-Tavistock is a township in southwestern Ontario, Canada, formed on 1 January 1975 through the amalgamation of the Township of East Zorra and the Village of Tavistock. It is part of Oxford County. The township had a population of 7,129 ...

, a recreational-nature facility is located near the community. From 1928 until its flooding in 1937, Innerkip Quarry produced gravel for railway beds. It was purchased in 1957 and since then has been used as a camp ground and trailer park. It is also used for

SCUBA diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

and swimming. The quarry is known for diving although it has only a maximum depth of 30 feet, and the only access is by shore. There are submerged cars, boats and planes for divers to use. Ice diving is popular at the quarry in the winter time. Many companies in Southern Ontario use the quarry for training. There is no diveshop on site, but there is a tank fill station.

Tavistock

Tavistock is located 15 kilometers southeast of Stratford and five kilometers south of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

on County Road 59. The area of the village is 2.25 km² Tavistock is home to the

Tavistock Braves The Tavistock Braves are a Junior ice hockey team based in Tavistock, Ontario, Canada. They currently play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association. History During the 1981-82 season Tavistock finished first over ...

, a junior hockey team that plays in the

Provincial Junior Hockey League The Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey league spanning parts of Southern Ontario. The PJHL is the third tier of the Ontario Hockey Association and is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada ...

, and the

Tavistock Royals The Tavistock Royals are a senior hockey team based out of Tavistock, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League. Championships The Tavistock Royals have won three WOAA "AA" Championships, as they ...

, a senior hockey team that plays in the

Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League The WOAA Senior AA Hockey League is a Canadian senior ice hockey league governed by the Western Ontario Athletic Association. The league operates in Southwestern Ontario. History Format The league uses Hockey Canada playing rules but is not o ...

. Tavistock has hosted the World

Crokinole Crokinole ( ) is a disk-flicking dexterity board game, possibly of Canadian origin, similar to the games of pitchnut, carrom, and pichenotte, with elements of shuffleboard and curling reduced to table-top size. Players take turns shooting discs ...

Championship (WCC) tournament annually on the first Saturday of June since 1999. Tavistock was chosen as the host village because it was closest to the Sebastopol, Ontario home of Eckhardt Wettlaufer, the maker of the earliest known board.

Government

The township is governed by a Mayor (Don McKay acclaimed at November 2006 election, a Deputy Mayor (Maureen Ralph), and 5 Councillors over three geographic wards: * Ward 1 (Tavistock village): 2 councillors elected * Ward 2 (northern areas of township except Tavistock village): 1 councillor elected * Ward 3 (southern areas of township, including Innerkip): 2 councillors elected

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 ...

, East Zorra-Tavistock 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. Population trend:Statistics Canada:

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

census * Population in 2016: 7,129 * Population in 2011: 6,836 * Population in 2006: 7,350 (or 7,008 when adjusted to 2011 boundaries) * Population in 2001: 7,238 * Population in 1996: 7,348 (or 7,278 when adjusted to 2001 boundaries) * Population in 1991: 7,251

Education

Public education in the township is managed by the

Thames Valley District School Board The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB; known as English-language Public District School Board No. 11 prior to 1999) is a public school board in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It was created on January 1, 1998, by the amalgamation of the E ...

, which has the following schools in East Zorra - Tavistock. All are elementary schools (up to grade 8), after which students are bused to schools in Woodstock. * Hickson Central Public School * Innerkip Central Public School * Tavistock Public School

Historical schools

* Innerkip Central Public School - 180 Coleman St, Innerkip. The first school which was originally built in 1930 has since been replaced with a more modern facility. * Tollgate Central Public School - 744993 Oxford Road 17. It was originally called S.S. No. 4 and was built on this site in 1848. A more modern facility was built in 1954.

Libraries

Oxford County Library operates two branches within East Zorra-Tavistock: in Innerkip at 695566 Oxford Road 5, and in Tavistock at 40 Woodstock Street South.

Natural areas and parks

Innerkip Lions Park

695566 Oxford Road 5, Innerkip. 6.9 ha (17 acres).

Optimist Club of Tavistock Park

250 Oxford Road 59, Tavistock. 4.5 ha (11 acres)

Tavistock Queen's Park

Maria St. Established in 1928. The stone gates were funded by the local Women's Institute. 20.5 ha (50 acres) of parkland and facilities.

W. Leslie Dickson Arboretum

715570 Oxford Road 4. Dedicated to the memory of W.L. Dickson. This little jewel is a product of a group called "The Men of the Trees". They have worked very hard to provide in excess of 150 labeled native trees and shrubs.

Plaques and monuments

Canada's Birthday

986044 Perth-Oxford Rd. Plaque - located at Punkeydoodle's Corners. a 6-sided concrete pillar with the inscription "Canada's Birthday 1982". It commemorates the Rt. Honourable Joe Clark's visit to the community on this day.

David Stock, Caister's Tavern

597112 Oxford Road 59, Tavistock. Caister's Tavern c. 1845–1854. Caleb Caister came from England to Oxford County in 1833. In 1836, he settled on this site, cleared farmland and built a one-storey log dwelling. This dwelling was his family home but also served as an inn and tavern. Until 1848, when what is now Tavistock was established, Caister's home was the only public accommodation in north-central Oxford County for pioneers moving along the Huron Road and thence southerly into the Zorra settlement. By the 1840s, Caister held an official municipal licence, and a survey map of the time shows that his log dwelling was known in this locality as Caister's Tavern.

Founder of Tavistock

22 Woodstock St. S, Tavistock. A stone cairn erected 1930 in memory of Captain Henry Eckstein, founder of Tavistock, A.D. 1848. Rededicated 1948. Rebuilt and rededicated in 1998.

A Tribute to Farm Women

OMAFRA site - Outdoor Farm show. This monument represents the role of farm women in the foundation and progress of Canadian Agriculture. Women from across the nation brought stones from their farms to help build this structure, erected throughout the three days of Canada's Outdoor Farm Show, September 2000. Presented by Farm Credit Corporation, Canada's Outdoor Farm Show, Ontario Farm Women's Network.

The Glass Swan

An historic house from Tavistock's earliest days, at 52 Woodstock St. S. There is a plaque marking its significance.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in Oxford County, Ontario Township municipalities in Ontario 1975 establishments in Ontario