Peterborough County is located in

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...

, Canada. The county seat is

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, which is independent of the county. The southern section of the county is mix of agriculture, urban and lakefront properties. The northern section of the county is mostly sparsely populated wilderness with numerous rivers and lakes, mostly within the recently expanded

Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park (officially Kawartha Highlands Signature Site) is a area of preserved wilderness and recreational areas in south-central Ontario, Canada. It is located to the north and east of the main belt of the Kawartha Lake ...

. The County contains the Lang Pioneer Village, and the Kawarthas are a major tourist region.

History

Origins and evolution

In 1615,

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...

was one of the first western explorers who traveled through the area, coming down from

Lake Chemong Chemong Lake, or Lake Chemong, (pronounced "shi-MONG, from the Anisnaabemowin gchi-maang, meaning "big lake")" is a lake northwest of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, near the town of Bridgenorth. The lake extends from near Fowlers Corners north ...

and portaging down a trail, which is approximated by present-day Chemong Road, to the

Otonabee River The Otonabee River is a river in Peterborough County in Central Ontario, Canada. The river flows from Katchewanooka Lake, at the north end of the community of Lakefield, through the city of Peterborough to Rice Lake. It is in the Great Lakes B ...

and stayed for a brief time near the present-day site of Bridgenorth, just north of Peterborough. The area was initially part of Northumberland County, which was formed by proclamation of the first

Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada The following is a list of lieutenant governors of Ontario and the lieutenant governors of the former colony of Upper Canada. The office of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario was created in 1867, when the Province of Ontario was created upon Confed ...

John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the Drainage basin, watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. ...

in 1792, and defined by statute in 1798. In 1802, Northumberland was included in 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 ...

. In 1841, the northern part of the District was detached to form the Colborne District, with the northern portion of Northumberalnd county made into the new County of Peterborough. It consisted of the following territory: The county was named in honor of Col. Peter Robinson, who in 1825 brought 2,000 settlers from Ireland. The route taken was by way of Port Hope, Rice Lake and the

, the same route used by the first settlers that entered this region in 1818. The centre of the County was originally the courthouse, which is still considered an important historical site. In 1851, Peterborough County was divided into the counties of Peterborough and Victoria, which were united for municipal purposes as the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria. A

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

was authorized in 1856 to facilitate the creation of a provisional county council for Victoria, but, as the united counties council delayed conducting it, a further Act was passed in 1861 to compel its being held, following which the provisional council was formed. and its formal separation took place in 1863. Further townships were surveyed, thus extending the reach of the County northwards. In 1874, the townships of Bruton, Cardiff, Dysart, Dudley, Glamorgan, Guilford, Harburn, Harcourt, Minden, Monmouth, Snowden and Stanhope were withdrawn from the County and transferred to the new Provisional County of Haliburton. After the transfer of the northern townships to Haliburton, the remainder of the County consisted of the following: The Town of Peterborough became a City in 1905, and was subsequently withdrawn from the County for municipal purposes. In 1974, as a result of the creation of the

Regional Municipality of Durham The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, Durham forms the east-end of the Greater To ...

, the township of Cavan and the village of Millbrook were withdrawn from Durham County, and the township of South Monaghan was withdrawn from Northumberland County, to be transferred to Peterborough County.

Current municipalities

As a consequence of the

Common Sense Revolution The phrase Common Sense Revolution (CSR) has been used as a political slogan to describe conservative platforms with a main goal of reducing taxes while balancing the budget by reducing the size and role of government. It has been used in places ...

in Ontario, the County was restructured into the following municipalities during the period 1997-2004: * Township of Asphodel-Norwood * Township of Cavan-Monaghan * Township of

Douro-Dummer Douro-Dummer is a township in central-eastern Ontario, Canada, in Peterborough County along the Trent-Severn Waterway. It was formed on January 1, 1998, through the amalgamation of Douro and Dummer Townships. The township is the site of drumli ...

* Township of

Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Havelock-Belmont-Methuen is a township in central-eastern Ontario, Canada, in Peterborough County. On January 1, 1998, Belmont and Methuen Township amalgamated with the Village of Havelock to form what is now Havelock-Belmont-Methuen. History ...

* Township of

North Kawartha North Kawartha is a township in northern Peterborough County, Ontario, Canada. North Kawartha was formed in 1998 through an amalgamation of the Townships of Burleigh and Anstruther and the Township of Chandos. For a while after this merger, it w ...

* Township of Otonabee-South Monaghan * Township of Selwyn * Municipality (Township) of

Trent Lakes The Municipality of Trent Lakes is a lower-tier township in the rural, mostly wooded northern section of Peterborough County, Ontario, Canada. The municipality has a primarily cottage and tourist industry based economy but has grown year round res ...

Two

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

reserves are independent of county administration: *

Curve Lake First Nation 35 Curve Lake First Nation 35 is an Ojibwe Native reserve 14 km north of Peterborough, Ontario. It serves as the landbase for the Curve Lake First Nation. The reserve occupies a peninsula located between Lake Chemong and Buckhorn Lake, surro ...

Hiawatha First Nation The Hiawatha First Nation (formerly Mississaugas of Rice Lake) is a Mississauga Ojibwe First Nations reserve located on the north shore of Rice Lake east of the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada. It is found in Otonabee Township less than 15& ...

Demographics

Major places

Cities

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

Towns/Villages

* Buckhorn, Ontario * Lakefield, Ontario * Norwood, Ontario * Havelock, Ontario * Douro, Ontario * Apsley, Ontario * Millbrook, Ontario * Bridgenorth, Ontario

Media

In 1994, the ''Connection'' newspaper (previously known as ''Causeway Connection'') established in Selwyn in central Peterborough County. The free monthly cottage country newspaper is distributed by mail, providing non-partisan news and information. The ''Connection'' is expanding both its distribution areas and internet presence.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Counties in Ontario