North Glengarry is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

eastern Ontario Eastern Ontario (census population 1,892,332 in 2021) () is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies a wedge-shaped area bounded by the Ottawa River and Quebec to the northeast and east, the St. Lawr ...

, Canada, in the

United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (SDG) is a county and Census divisions of Canada, census division in the Canadian province of Ontario, that comprises three historical county, counties. The county's administrative office is lo ...

. It is a predominantly

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

area located between

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

Communities

The township of North Glengarry comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communities: * Kenyon Township: Apple Hill, Dominionville, Dunvegan, Greenfield, Maxville; ''Athol'', ''Baltic Corners'', ''Dornie'', ''Fiskes Corners'', ''Fassifern'', ''Guaytown'', ''Laggan'', ''McCrimmon'', ''St. Elmo'', ''Stewarts Glen''; ''Fairview'', ''Skye'' * Lochiel Township: Alexandria (population 3,287), Dalkeith, Glen Robertson, Glen Sandfield, Lochiel; ''Breadalbane'', ''Brodie'', ''Kirkhill'', ''Lochinvar'', ''Lorne'', ''McCormick'', ''Pine Grove'' The township administrative offices are located in Alexandria. Alexandria is served five or six times a day by the Montreal-Ottawa

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

trains which almost all stop at Alexandria station in each direction. Commuter buses provide daily services from Maxville and area to

Ottawa-Gatineau The National Capital Region (NCR) (, ), also known as Canada's Capital Region and Ottawa–Gatineau, is an official federal designation encompassing the Canada, Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario, the adjacent city of Gatineau, Quebec, and su ...

. Maxville was served by Via Rail until October 2011. File:Alexandria ON.JPG, Alexandria File:Apple Hill ON.JPG, Apple Hill File:Maxville ON 2.JPG, Maxville

History

The area was originally settled in 1792 as part of the historic

Glengarry County Glengarry County, an area covering , is a county in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is still inhabited by the descendants of 18th and early 19th-century Scottish Highland pioneer settlers from Lochaber, was historically a Gàidhealtachd commun ...

in which many

Scottish emigrants Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (or ...

settled from all over the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

due to the

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( , 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 resulted from Scottish Agricultural R ...

. This first wave of heavy migration lasted till 1816, emigration still continued afterwards into the early 20th century but in a slower pace. Many of these migrants came from the

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...

area of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

specifically.

Canadian Gaelic Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic (, 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 Scotia from 1773, with the ...

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

has been a spoken language in the area for over four centuries 792? Kenyon, which was part of Charlottenburgh Township until 1798, was named for British judge and politician

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 i ...

, and Lochiel, which was part of Lancaster Township until 1818, was named for the Lochiels of

Clan Cameron Clan Cameron is a West Scottish Highlands, 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, the highest mountain in the British Isl ...

. Alexandria and its nucleus ''Priest's Mill'', built in 1819, were named for the Catholic priest Alexander Macdonell, who resided at St. Raphael's and later became the first bishop of Kingston.''Main Street Glengarry County''
, p. 6, p. 13 Development in the region was significantly spurred by the development of a railway link between

and

in the early 1880s. Maxville, Alexandria and Glen Robertson, in particular, became key railway hubs for farmers in the area. Maxville was first incorporated as a village separate from Kenyon Township in 1892, and Alexandria was separated from Lochiel Township in the early 1900s. The township of North Glengarry was established on January 1, 1998, with the amalgamation of the former townships of Kenyon and Lochiel, along with the village of Maxville and the town of Alexandria.

Demographics

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 Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, North Glengarry 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.

Culture

Maxville (population 853) hosts the annual

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 two days and with an attendance of over 20,000, are the l ...

, one of North America's largest festivals of

Scottish culture The culture of Scotland includes Scots law, its distinct legal system, financial institutions, sports in Scotland, sports, literature of Scotland, literature, art of Scotland, art, music of Scotland, music, media of Scotland, media, cuisine of ...

, on the first long weekend in August. The Glengarry Highland Games include traditional Scottish events such as the caber toss, tug of war, and the sheaf toss. Maxville hosts a country fair at the end of June that include a classic and new automobile show, homecraft prizes, Western performances, a holstein show including 4-H showmanship, a hunter horse and hunter pony show, a talent show, a midway, laser tag and a demolition derby.

Sport

The

Alexandria Glens The Glengarry Brigade are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Glengarry County, Ontario, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the At ...

of the Central Canada Hockey League Tier 2 play at the Glengarry Sports Palace (

Billy Gebbie Arena The Billy Gebbie Arena, occupies a portion of the Glengarry Sports Palace (which also includes a branch of the SD&G County Library, a community hall, two baseball diamonds, and a soccer field), has been the home of the Alexandria Glens since 1976 ...

) in Alexandria. The Glens joined the new CCHL2 league in 2015. The Glens played in the

Eastern Ontario Junior B Hockey League The Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League is a Junior ice hockey league operating in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by Hockey Eastern Ontario and Hockey Canada and acts as a junior B league to the Central Canada Hockey League. ...

until the 2014-15 season. The Glens won the 2007 EOJBHL Championship, defeating the Gatineau Mustangs in 7 games in the final. This marks the first time a team outside of the Metro Division of EOJBHL has won the Carson Trophy as league champions in over half a decade. This marks the Glens‘ first Junior "B" Championship. The Glens won the 2008 EOJBHL Championship, defeating the Ottawa West Golden Knights in 6 games in the final. This marks the first time a team the St-Lawrence Division has won the Carson Trophy back to back as league champions. This was also the Glens‘ second Junior "B" Championship. The Maxville Mustangs of the Eastern Ontario Junior C Hockey League used to play in Maxville.

References

External links

* {{StormontDundasGlengarry Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Township municipalities in Ontario