Northumberland County is an upper-tier level of municipal government situated on the north shore of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

, east of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Central Ontario Central Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario that lies between Georgian Bay and the eastern end of Lake Ontario. The population of the region was 1,123,307 in 2016; however, this number does not in ...

. The Northumberland County headquarters are located in

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

Municipalities

Northumberland County consists of seven municipalities (in population order): *Town of

*Municipality of Port Hope - originally part of Durham County *Municipality (town) of

Trent Hills The Municipality of Trent Hills is a township municipality in Northumberland County, Ontario, Northumberland County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is on the Trent River (Ontario), Trent River and was created in 2001 through the amalgamation of t ...

*Municipality (town) of

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

*Township of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

*Township of

Alnwick/Haldimand The Township of Alnwick/Haldimand is a township in central Ontario, Canada, in Northumberland County, situated between Lake Ontario and Rice Lake. It was formed in 2001 by the merger of Alnwick Township in the north and Haldimand Township in th ...

*Township of

Cramahe Cramahe is a rural township located in Northumberland County in central Ontario, Canada. It is situated just off Ontario Highway 401 approximately 140 km East of Toronto. It was named for Hector Theophilus de Cramahé, who was Lieutenan ...

The Alderville First Nation is within the Northumberland census division but is independent of county administration.

Demographics

As a

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States of America, 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-lev ...

in the 2021 Census of Population 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 ...

, Northumberland 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.

Towns/villages

*Town of

, Ontario *Municipality of

Port Hope, Ontario Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County. ...

*Municipality of

Brighton, Ontario Brighton is a town in Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Toronto and west of Kingston. It is traversed by both Highway 401 and the former Highway 2. The west end of the Murray Canal that leads east to the Bay of ...

*Municipality of

, Ontario *

Township, Ontario *

Hamilton Township, Ontario Hamilton Township is a rural township located in Northumberland County in central Ontario. It surrounds the Town of Cobourg. The township was named after Henry Hamilton, Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec from 1782 to 1785. Communities *Baltimor ...

Township, Ontario

History

Together with Durham County, it formed the

Newcastle District The Newcastle District was a historic district in Upper Canada which existed until 1849. It was formed in 1802 from the Home District, consisting of the counties of Durham and Northumberland. History The legislature had enacted in 1798 that "as so ...

from 1802 to 1849 and the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham from 1850 to 1973. Effective January 1, 1974, part of Durham County was merged with Ontario County to create the Regional Municipality of Durham. At that time, Northumberland reverted to a standalone county. It was first aggressively settled by

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...

fleeing the former 13 British American Colonies in the late 18th century. The Crown provided plots to the settlers for nominal sums (with the stipulation of making the land productive in a set number of years) or free to those who had served against the American Colonial Army. Following the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, many port towns, Port Hope and Cobourg in particular, became important centres for commercial activity and a landing point for European immigrants arriving on steamers.

Recreation

There are two provincial parks in Northumberland County:

Presqu'ile Provincial Park Presqu'ile Provincial Park is a park in southeastern Northumberland County on the north shore of Lake Ontario near the town of Brighton in Ontario, Canada. The park occupies an area of . The name of the park is the French word for peninsula, or ...

, and

Ferris Provincial Park Ferris Provincial Park is a provincial park in northeastern Northumberland County in Ontario, Canada. The park occupies an area of next to the Trent River in Campbellford Campbellford is an unincorporated place and former town in Northumbe ...

in Campbellford. There are also several other protected natural areas and forests, including Ganaraska Forest
Northumberland County Forest
Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area, and Peter's Woods. Waterfront campsites and cottages are located along

and Rice Lake. Northumberland County has various cycling, hiking and other outdoor trails. The

Waterfront Trail Stretching over 3600 km (2236 miles) from Prince Township, west of Sault Ste. Marie, to the Quebec border, the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is a signed route of interconnecting roads and off-road trails joining over 150 communities and First Na ...

along Lake Ontario passes through Northumberland County, as does the

Trans-Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail, officially named The Great Trail between September 2016 and June 2021, is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans. The trail extends ...

. The Northumberland portion of the Trans-Canada Trail spans from

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

to Hoard's Station in Campbellford, following an abandoned rail line. Halfway through Campbellford, the trail joins the 6 km long Rotary Trail situated alongside the Trent River. There are five signed bike routes
Glorious GanaraskaRice Lake RambleShelter ValleyPresqu’ile Promise
an
Trent River Truckin'
The Northumberland County Forest offers various trails available for hiking, cycling, horseback riding, ATVing, off-road motorcycling, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing as well as a 3.2 km, accessible
Universal Trail
The Ganaraska Hiking Trail starts in Port Hope and goes north towards 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 ...

. There are three theatres in Northumberland County: Westben in Campbellford, the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope, and the Park Theatre & Performing Arts Centre in Cobourg. Festivals in Northumberland include the Warkworth Maple Syrup and Float Your Fanny Down the Ganny festivals in early spring, the Cobourg Sandcastle Festival and Incredible Edibles Festival in the summer, and the Cultivate Food and Vintage Film Festivals in the fall.

References

External links

* {{Subdivisions of Ontario Counties in Ontario

Municipalities

Demographics

Towns/villages

History

Recreation

See also

References

External links