The Town of Mono is situated in south-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, at the south-east corner of

Dufferin County Dufferin County is a county and census division located in Central Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Orangeville, and the current Warden is Wade Mills. The current chief administrative officer is Sonya Pritchard. Dufferin covers an area of , ...

. It stretches from Highway 9 along its southern border to Highway 89 along its northern border. Its border to the west is with the Township of Amaranth and in the east, it is bordered by the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio. It was previously known as the Township of Mono. Mono is a rural community in both geography and character. It has a wide variation in topography, being composed of mostly rolling, tree-covered hills. It holds many streams and creeks which form the headwaters of three rivers - the Humber River,

Nottawasaga River The Nottawasaga River is a river in Simcoe County and Dufferin County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Huron. The river flows from the Orangeville Reservoir in the town of Orangeville, Du ...

and

Credit River The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario, which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment near Orangeville and Caledon East to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately . The total le ...

and most of the town is located on high land relative to the rest of Southern Ontario. This leads to its current slogan of 'the heart of the headwaters'. Mono's residents live on farms, rural estates, and in small settlements. Mono Centre, Hockley Village, and Camilla are just some of the small communities which exist within the Town of Mono. Mono's population represents many different backgrounds, including the farming community, local businesses, numerous artists and artisans, commuters to neighboring towns and cities, and weekend escapees from the urban bustle. The origins of the name is believed to be from Sir

Peregrine Maitland General Sir Peregrine Maitland, GCB (6 July 1777 – 30 May 1854) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. He also was a first-class cricketer from 1798 to 1808 and an early advocate for the establishment of what would become the Canadi ...

from Spanish for ''monkey''.

History

The Town of Mono as it currently is organized is the result of governmental changes that were made as the population grew and land uses change. When " Simcoe District" was formed in 1843 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 Lis ...

, it contained 19 original townships. Simcoe District was restructured in 1845, changing its composition to 24 townships including the Township of Mono. Effective January 1, 1850, ''An Act for abolishing the Territorial Divisions of Upper Canada into Districts'' abolished Simcoe "District" in favour of the Simcoe "County", still composed of the Townships noted in the Act of 1845. The "Provisional County of Dufferin" was initially organized as authorized by the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

in 1875 and the actual formation taking effect in 1881, from parts of the counties of Grey, Simcoe and Wellington Counties. The Township of Mulmur and the Township of Mono were transferred from Simcoe to Dufferin in 1881. To better coordinate common services provided to the communities and consolidate governance within the township, the township reorganized as the Town of Mono on 1 June 1999.

Communities

The town of Mono comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communities such as Blount, (place) Camilla, Cardwell, Elba, Elder, Glen Cross, Granger, Hockley (partially), Lucille, Mono Centre, Primrose (partially), Relessey,

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

, Woodside; ''Coopertown'', ''Coulterville'', ''Glenoe'', ''Gooseville'', ''Lavertyville'', ''Lorraine'' (partially), ''Mono College'', ''Mono Mills'' (partially), ''Purple Hill'', ''Rocktown'', ''Sheldon'' (partially), ''Springbrook'', ''White's Corners''; ''Cardinal Woods'', ''Leathertown'' (partially), ''Mulmur Corners'' (partially), ''Rosemont'' (partially), ''Starrview Acres'' (partially), ''Violet Hill'' (partially)

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; 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 ...

, Mono 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.

Recreation and tourism

Mono Cliffs Provincial Park Mono Cliffs Provincial Park lies within the rural town of Mono, in southern Ontario, Canada, along the Bruce Trail. It is part of the Niagara Escarpment Parks System, and the escarpment Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a ...

is one place where the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States that runs predominantly east–west from New York through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and into Illinois. The escarpment is most famous as the cliff over ...

puts out a dramatic appearance. The dominant features of the park are three Escarpment outcrops known as the Mono Rocks. The

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

operates an outdoor education and conference centre located within the park. Also, the

Bruce Trail The Bruce Trail is a hiking trail in southern Ontario, Canada, from the Niagara River to the tip of Tobermory, Ontario. The main trail is more than long and there are over of associated side trails. The trail mostly follows the edge of the Nia ...

goes through this area, linking it to the nearby

Hockley Valley Provincial Nature Reserve Hockley Valley Provincial Nature Reserve is a nature reserve located on the Niagara Escarpment within the township of Mono, Ontario, Canada. It is managed by Ontario Parks. Approximately 80% of the Cannings Falls Area of Natural and Scientific In ...

. The Hockley Valley itself is a popular destination for tourists in the fall wishing to take in the changing colors of the leaves in autumn. Outside of the Bruce Trail, there are several parks and the

is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

protected

Biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

, one of only 12 in

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 ...

. There are several recreational attractions in the region as well. The Hockley Valley Resort is located on the 3rd Line of Mono. The Resort has both a golf course for activities in the summer and a popular ski resort for winter get-aways. There are also cross country skiing trails at Monora Park. There is much debate between residents and non residents as to the correct way to pronounce the name Mono, the correct way is mow-no. The Indigenous name Mahnoo, means "let it be so." The original name was Monadh (Irish pronounced it Monaah and later residents, Mowna) named by the Irish potato farmers who came to these higher elevations to get early crops. There are several historic hamlets or villages in the Town of Mono. They include Camilla, Elba, Relessey, Mono Centre, Glen Cross, Granger, Hockley and Blount. The first woman lawyer in Canada, Clara Brett Martin, received her elementary education at Perry's School built in 1866, located in the Hamlet of Blount in South Mono. The Hamlet's post office was established in 1888 and the first postmaster was William Woods. Mono Cliff Inn in Mono Centre was Baker's General Store.

References in popular culture

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...

, the director of the 1997 film ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'', spent time in his childhood in the Caledon region to the south and still has family there. As a tribute to his youth, he named the villain in ''Titanic'', Caledon Hockley, after both Caledon and the Hockley Valley area. The

Wingfield Series ''The Wingfield Cycle'' is a Canadian series of seven one-man plays - ''Letter from Wingfield Farm'', ''Wingfield's Progress'', ''Wingfield's Folly'', ''Wingfield Unbound'', ''Wingfield on Ice'', ''Wingfield's Inferno'' and ''Wingfield Lost and Fou ...

of plays is set in a fictional small town in Ontario called Persephone Township. Many of the jokes and personalities are taken from, among other sources, Mono Township. For example, the debate over the pronunciation of Persephone reflects the debate over the pronunciation of Mono. Playwright

Dan Needles Dan Needles is best known as the playwright behind the popular Wingfield Series, which has played across Canada for many years. It was performed at the Stratford Festival of Canada, Mirvish Productions Toronto and was aired, in part, on the Canad ...

created the character while working in

Shelburne, Ontario Shelburne (2016 population 8,126) is a town in Dufferin County, Ontario, Canada, is located at the intersection of Highway 10 and Highway 89. Shelburne hosts the Annual Canadian Championship Old Time Fiddling Contest that is held each August. Hi ...

. Portions of the TV series ''

Schitt's Creek ''Schitt's Creek'' (stylized as ''Schitt$ Creek'') is a Canadian television sitcom created by Dan Levy and his father, Eugene Levy, that aired on CBC Television from 2015 to 2020. It consists of 80 episodes spread over six seasons. Produced by ...

'' are filmed at a motel located in Mono.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in Dufferin County Towns in Ontario