Glengarry County, an area covering , is a former county in the province of

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 ...

. It is historically known for its settlement of

Scottish Highlanders The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sc ...

. Glengarry County now consists of the modern-day townships of

North Glengarry North Glengarry is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. It is a predominantly elderly invaded rural area located between Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal and Cornwall. Communities The township ...

and

South Glengarry South Glengarry is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada on the Saint Lawrence River in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. South Glengarry borders Quebec. Communities The township of South Glengarry comprises a number of vill ...

and it borders the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

. Glengarry was founded in 1784 by Scottish

loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

, mainly from

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

, and other Highland Scottish emigrants from the

Mohawk Valley The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, th ...

in New York. The Crown granted them land and helped with supplies the first winter, as compensation for their losses in New York. Some veterans received land instead of pay for their salaries. In addition, the settlement was founded as a destination for Scottish

emigrants Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

arriving after the recent

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulte ...

. Great Britain hoped the new immigrants would help settle and develop this area, which became known as Upper Canada and later Ontario. Throughout the late 18th and the 19th century, other Highland emigrants settled into the community as a means of preserving their Scottish Highland Culture. The county was named after the Scottish Glen, where the MacDonell family was based. The

Glengarry Highland Games The Glengarry Highland Games consist of a series of traditional Scottish competitions held annually in Maxville, Ontario, Canada, usually held the first weekend in August. The games span three days and with an attendance of over 20,000, are th ...

are an example of the county's historic culture, first celebrated in 1948. They have been held annually since, during the weekend before the first Monday in August. These Games are one of the largest of their kind outside

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, attracting visitors from all over the world. The original territory of Glengarry also included Prescott County, which became a separate county in 1800.

Canadian Gaelic Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig Chanada, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada. Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scot ...

(i.e. Canadian Scottish Gaelic) used to be a common language in this region. Though the number of speakers has steadily decreased over the past years, those wanting to learn Gaelic form classes throughout Glengarry. Glengarry united with Stormont and

Dundas Dundas may refer to: Places Australia * Dundas, New South Wales * Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region * Dundas, Tasmania * Dundas, Western Australia * Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828 * Shire of ...

in 1850 to form the

United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (SDG) is an upper-tier municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario that comprises three historical counties and excludes the City of Cornwall and the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne. However ...

Historic townships

Glengarry was originally divided east and west into Charlottenburgh and Lancaster townships, and then eventually divided into four townships. It has since been divided into North and South Glengarry. * Charlottenburgh – now in South Glengarry Township, it was named in honour of

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

. *

Kenyon Kenyon may refer to: Names * Kenyon (given name) * Kenyon (surname) Places * Kenyon, Cheshire, United Kingdom, a village * Kenyon, Minnesota, United States, a city * Kenyon, Rhode Island, United States, a village * Kenyon, former name of Pineridg ...

– now in North Glengarry Township. Kenyon Township was taken from Charlottenburg Township in 1798, and was named from the English Chief Justice

Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon (5 October 1732 – 4 April 1802), was a British politician and barrister, who served as Attorney General, Master of the Rolls and Lord Chief Justice. Born to a country gentleman, he was initially educated in Ha ...

* Lancaster – now in South Glengarry Township. Surveyed in 1784, it was first settled in 1785. * Lochiel – now in North Glengarry. Lochiel Township separated from Lancaster Township on November 24, 1818. Lochiel was named after the chief of the

Clan Cameron Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands lies Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Chief ...

. This clan had many representatives among the veteran settlers.''Province of Ontario -- A History 1615 to 1927'' by Jesse Edgar Middletwon & Fred Landon, copyright 1927, Dominion Publishing Company, Toronto

References

External links

Township of South Glengarry

Township of North Glengarry

{{Authority control Former counties in Ontario * Scottish-Canadian culture in Ontario

Historic townships

See also

References

External links