Huron County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

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 C ...

, Canada. It is located on the southeast shore of its namesake,

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Straits of Ma ...

, in the southwest part of the province. The county seat is Goderich, also the county's largest community. The population reported in the 2021 Census for this predominantly agricultural area with many villages and small towns was 61,366 in a land area of 3,399 square kilometres. Of the total population, 7,628 reside in Goderich.

History

File:HuronTract.JPG, Original extent of the Huron Tract. File:1850 Tallis Map of West Canada or Ontario ( includes Great Lakes ) - Geographicus - WestCanada-tallis-1850.jpg, Map of

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on th ...

in 1850, with the Huron District outlined in brown. File:1857 Colton Map of Ontario, Canada - Geographicus - CanadaWest-colton-1857.jpg,

in 1857. Huron County is marked in light pink. Huron County, Ontario

The portion of the Huron Tract ceded to the

Canada Company The Canada Company was a private British land development company that was established to aid in the colonization of a large part of Upper Canada. It was incorporated by royal charter on August 19, 1826, under an act of the British parliament,, ...

was established as the "County of Huron" in 1835, with the exception of certain townships that were transferred to other counties: :* Adelaide Township went to Middlesex County :* The townships of Moore and Sarnia, Plympton, Enniskillen, Warwick, Brooke and Bosanquet went to Kent County

Historic townships

In 1835, the county was declared to consist of the following townships: * Biddulph * Blanshard * Colborne * Downie * Ellice * South Easthope * North Easthope * Fullarton * Goderich * Hay * Hibbert * Hullett * Logan * McKillop * McGillivray * Stephen * Stanley * Tuckersmith * Usborne * Williams They have since devolved to the following counties (as outlined in red): File:Ont Huron all.PNG, Huron County File:Ont Huron Middlesex All.PNG, Middlesex County File:Ont Huron Perth All.PNG, Perth County

Territorial evolution

Legislation was passed by the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lie ...

in 1838 to authorize the separation of the county from the London District and constitute it as the

Huron District Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

. The county was extended northward in 1840, upon the survey of a new range of townships on its northern boundary, beginning with Ashfield Township, and later including Wawanosh, Morris, Grey and Elma. The District itself came into being in October 1841. Huron County was continued for electoral purposes in 1845, and the District was extended northwards as far as the Bruce Peninsula in 1846. The District (which existed for judicial and municipal purposes) was abolished at the beginning of 1850. Legislation passed later in the same session of the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Uppe ...

provided for the county to be reconstituted as the United Counties of Huron, Perth and Bruce, with the territory of the

Bruce Peninsula The Bruce Peninsula is a peninsula in Ontario, Canada, that divides Georgian Bay of Lake Huron from the lake's main basin. The peninsula extends roughly northwestwards from the rest of Southwestern Ontario, pointing towards Manitoulin Islan ...

withdrawn and annexed to Waterloo County. The townships were distributed as follows: The Bruce Peninsula was later returned to Bruce in 1851. The

County of Perth Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the no ...

was given its own Provisional Municipal Council at that time, and was separated from the United Counties in 1853. Several townships were transferred to Middlesex County: :* Williams, in 1845 :* Biddulph and McGillivray, in 1862. Legislation was passed in 1866 to provide for the dissolution of the United Counties on January 1, 1867, with Huron and

Bruce County Bruce County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada comprising eight lower-tier municipalities and with a 2016 population of 66,491. It is named for James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, sixth Governor General of the P ...

becoming separate counties for all purposes.

Government

The Huron County Council consists of fifteen members from the nine area municipalities to ensure that each is represented on this council. Each year, a Warden is elected from the group; this individual chairs meetings and represents the County at various functions. Elected to Ashfeild-Colborne-Wawanosh Council in 2014, and acclaimed as Mayor in 2018, the current Warden is Glen McNeil. Most of the population of the county resides in the

Huron—Bruce Huron—Bruce (formerly known as Huron and Huron—Middlesex) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1953. History The riding was created in 1952 from parts of ...

, formerly Huron and Huron—Middlesex, federal electoral district. The majority also reside in the

Huron—Bruce (provincial electoral district) Huron—Bruce (formerly known as Huron and Huron—Middlesex) is a provincial riding in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1987. It was known as Huron from 1987 to 1999. On March 22, 1940, t ...

formerly known as Huron and Huron—Middlesex. The county's Official Plan (2015) addresses the following issues: "agriculture, community services, the economy, natural environment, extractive resources, and settlement patterns." According to this document, agriculture is a particularly significant part of the economy since "Huron leads all counties and regions in Ontario in total value of production; and it also exceeds the production totals of several provinces".

Municipalities

Huron County comprises nine lower-tier municipalities (in order of population): * Municipality of South Huron (population centre: Exeter) * Municipality of Huron East (population centres: Seaforth, Brussels) * Town of Goderich * Municipality of Central Huron (population centre: Clinton) * Municipality of Bluewater (population centre: Bayfield) * Township of Ashfield–Colborne–Wawanosh * Township of

North Huron The Township of North Huron is a municipality in Huron County, Ontario, Canada. It was formed in 2001 when the Ontario government imposed amalgamation on municipalities throughout the province. Specifically, the former township of East Wawanosh wa ...

(population centre: Wingham) * Municipality of

Howick Howick may refer to: Places *Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa **Howick Falls * Howick, Lancashire, a small hamlet (Howick Cross) and former civil parish in England *Howick, New Zealand **Howick Historical Village **Howick (New Zealand electo ...

* Municipality of Morris-Turnberry The boundaries of the county's municipalities have been in effect since 2001, after the provincial government imposed mergers throughout the province.

Demographics

As a

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic uni ...

in the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, Huron County 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. Historic populations: * Population in 2001: 59,701 * Population in 1996: 60,220

Communities

* Amberley (border with

) * Auburn * Bayfield * Belgrave * Belmore (border with

) * Benmiller * Bluevale *

Blyth Blyth may refer to: People * Blyth (surname) * Blythe (given name) Places Australia * Blyth, South Australia, a small town Canada * Blyth, Ontario, a village United Kingdom * Blyth, Northumberland, a town ** Blyth Valley (UK Parliament ...

* Brucefield *

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

* Centralia (border with Middlesex County) *

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

* Corbett (border with Middlesex County) * Crediton * Dashwood * Drysdale *

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in th ...

* Egmondville *

Ethel Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, b ...

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal c ...

* Fordwich * Goderich * Gorrie * Harpurhey * Hensall * Holmesville * Huron Park * Kinburn * Kingsbridge * Kintail * Kippen * Kirkton (border with Perth County) * Lakelet * Leadbury * Londesborough *

Molesworth Molesworth may refer to: Places *Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, a village in Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, England *Molesworth (crater), a crater on Mars *Molesworth Station, New Zealand's largest farm *Molesworth Street, Dublin, Ireland * Moleswo ...

(border with Perth County) *

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel ( he, הַר הַכַּרְמֶל, Har haKarmel; ar, جبل الكرمل, Jabal al-Karmil), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias ( ar, link=no, جبل مار إلياس, Jabal Mār Ilyās, lit=Mount Saint Elias/ Elijah), is a ...

(border with Middlesex County) *

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

Port Albert Port Albert is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, on the coast of Corner Inlet on the Yarram - Port Albert Road, south-east of Morwell, south-east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington. At the , Port Albert had a population of 293. ...

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...

St. Columban Columbanus ( ga, Columbán; 543 – 21 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in pr ...

(border with Perth County) * St. Joseph *

Saltford Saltford is a large English village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset. It lies between the cities of Bristol and Bath, and adjoins Keynsham on the same route. Saltford Manor House (built about 1160 ...

* Seaforth * Shipka *

Summerhill Summerhill or Summer Hill may refer to the following places: Australia *Summer Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Summerhill, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston *Summerhill (Mount Duneed), a prefabricated iron cottage in Victoria Canada * ...

Sunshine Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when ...

* Vanastra * Varna * Walton * Whitechurch (border with

) * Wingham * Winthrop *

Whalen Corners Whalen is a surname. In Ireland, Whalen, Whelan, Phelan and O'Phelan, are anglicized variants of the same Gaelic surname, Faoláin, which itself is a variant of Ó Faoileáin and Ó Haoláin. It may refer to: People *Bob Whalen, American college ...

(border with

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

Counties) * Woodham (border with Perth County) *

Wroxeter Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England, which forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington, beside the River Severn, south-east of Shrewsbury. ''Viroconium Cornoviorum'', the fourth largest city in Roman Britain, was sited ...

* Zurich

Former communities/ghost towns

Donnybrook Donnybrook may refer to: Places Australia * Donnybrook, Queensland, Australia * Donnybrook, Western Australia * Donnybrook, Victoria, Australia ** Donnybrook railway station, Victoria, Australia Canada * Donnybrook, Ontario, a former village in ...

Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...

Mafeking Mafikeng, officially known as Mahikeng and previously Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast of Cape Town and west of Johannesburg. In ...

* McGaw * Rodgerville *

Sodom Sodom may refer to: Places Historic * Sodom and Gomorrah, cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis United States * Sodom, Kentucky, a ghost town * Sodom, New York, a hamlet * Sodom, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Sodom, West Virginia, an ...

* Spidertown (border with Middlesex County)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Counties in Ontario Lake Huron Southwestern Ontario