Gurd Township is an historical

geographic township The term township, in Canada, is generally the district or area associated with a town. The specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semirural government within the co ...

in central

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 ...

, in the

Almaguin Highlands The Almaguin Highlands Region (colloquially known as Almaguin, also referred to as 'the Highlands') in Ontario, Canada, covers approximately comprising the eastern half of Parry Sound District. It is bounded by Muskoka in the south, and by Lake ...

region of

Parry Sound District Parry Sound District is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its boundaries are District of Muskoka to the south, the Sudbury District to the north-northwest, the French River and Lake Nipissing in the north, Nipissing Distri ...

. It was first surveyed in and was named after Robert Sinclair Gurd, a businessman and one-time mayor of Sarnia. In 1970, Gurd was annexed by the incorporated (Township municipality of) Nipissing. The township was shaped like an "L" wrapping around Nipissing. It was bounded on the north and northwest by Patterson Township on the west by

Pringle Township Pringle is an unorganized geographic township in Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada. It is topographically part of the Almaguin Highlands region, and is part of the census subdivision of Unorganized Centre Parry Sound District. The township in ...

, on the east and northeast by Nipissing, on the east by South Himsworth Township and on the south by Machar Township. It included the community of Hotham and part of Commanda. When it was annexed, Gurd had a population of 260 while Nipissing had 550. Today, the population is approximately 300 (419 including the nearby community of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

). Gurd is home to the

Bray Lake Conservation Reserve Bray may refer to: Places France *Bray, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' *Bray, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'' *Bray-Dunes, in the Nord ''département'' * Bray-en-Val, in the Loiret ''département'' * Bray-et-Lû, i ...

South River Forest Provincial Conservation Reserve South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

and the John P. Webster Nature Preserve. Highway 522 runs through the south of the township while Highway 534 cuts through the north at Hotham. Gurd is home to Lockharts Mountain , the highest elevation in the Township of Nipissing at 432m (1,417ft).

Etymology

This township in Parry Sound District was named in 1875 for Robert S. Gurd, a

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...

lawyer. He was a personal friend of Timothy B. Pardee, Ontario commissioner of crown lands at the time.

References

External links

Heritage Perspectives: How Some Townships Got Their Name
Geographic townships in Ontario {{Ontario-geo-stub

Etymology

See also

References

External links