Stirling-Rawdon is a
township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...
in the
Canadian province of
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 ...
, located in
Hastings County
Hastings County is located in the province of Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is located on the border of Eastern Ontario and Central Ontario. Hastings County is the second-largest county in Ontario, after Renfrew County, and its county ...
. It was formed on January 1, 1998, through the amalgamation of Rawdon Township with the Village of Stirling. Stirling was named the 2012 Kraft Hockeyville winner, after gaining more than 3.9 million votes.
Communities
Besides the village proper of Stirling, the township of Stirling-Rawdon comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communities such as Anson, Bonarlaw, Harold, Minto, Mount Pleasant, Sine, Springbrook, Wellman; Brinkworth, Madoc Junction, Peterson, Rylstone, Sarginson, Wellman Station
Bonarlaw
Bonarlaw (
) is located north of Springbrook on County Road 14. Bonarlaw is named for British Prime Minister
Bonar Law. The community was formerly known as Big Springs and Bellview. Bonarlaw has an Anglican church, St. Marks, which is located at the intersection of highway 14 and St. Marks Road. It was built in 1933 and is the second church on the site.
The
Canadian Pacific
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
Havelock Subdivision
Havelock may refer to:
People As a surname
* Havelock-Allan baronets, holders of the baronetcy
* Sir Henry Havelock (1795–1857), British general, active in India
* Lieutenant General Sir Henry Havelock-Allan, 1st Baronet (1830–1897), ...
crossed the
Canadian National
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN ...
Maynooth subdivision at grade just west of highway 14. The Maynooth railway line has been abandoned and has been converted to recreational/snowmobile trails. CP Ottawa-Toronto trains called at Bonarlaw station as late as 1964.
Stirling
Stirling (
) is located northeast of
Trenton and north of
Belleville. The village accounts for a significant share of the township's entire population. The village of Stirling has a population of 2,139 (2006 census). Up until October 12, 2017, Stirling-Rawdon had the smallest recognized police force in Ontario, with eight police officers and one police chief. They have since transitioned to the
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorp ...
. Settlements include
Anson Anson may refer to:
People
* Anson (name), a give name and surname
** Anson family, a British aristocratic family with the surname
Place names
;United States
* Anson, Indiana
* Anson, Kansas
* Anson, Maine
** Anson (CDP), Maine
* Anson, Missour ...
and
Sine.
Stirling is named for Stirling, Scotland, "because the first settlers thought that the surrounding countryside resembled Stirlingshire" (CPCGN files). Post office dates from 1852.
Milestones
In 1983, The Heritage Years : A History of Stirling and District (compiled and edited by Rosella Clancy and Blanche Faulkner) was prepared for the 125th anniversary celebrations. The book provides a comprehensive look at the history of Stirling and the surrounding communities in Rawdon and Sidney townships.
In 2008, the village of Stirling celebrated its 150th anniversary.
Kraft Hockeyville
Kraft Hockeyville
''Kraft Hockeyville'' is an annual competition sponsored by Kraft Heinz, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association in which communities compete to demonstrate their commitment to the sport of ice hockey. The winning commu ...
was awarded to Stirling in March 2012 with an incredible 3.9 million votes over participating communities across Canada.
The Kraft Hockeyville program looks for communities across Canada that exhibit great community spirit, and a passion for hockey with the ultimate Kraft Hockeyville prize of $100,000 and the opportunity to host an NHL game.
The theme of Stirling Hockeyville 2012 was “Play together...Stay Together.” Organized by chairperson Cindy Brandt, the community came together in a passionate show of support for the improvement of their village. After the death of the influential 25-year arena manager Barry Wilson
[ ] in the spring of 2011, the tiny community decided to fulfill his mission of improving the Stirling District Recreation Centre. The self-dubbed "little village with a big heart" succeeded in their intentions.
As a result of winning the competition, the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
and
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...
were scheduled to play an
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
pre-season game in Stirling in September 2012. Arrangements were made to accommodate these teams in the Yardmen Arena in
Belleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Belleville is between Ottawa and Toronto, along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Its populat ...
, but the game was eventually cancelled due to the
2012 NHL lockout
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length  ...
. As a form of compensation, in June 2013 the NHL announced that Stirling would host a pre-season game between the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...
and
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...
at Yardmen Arena on September 14, 2013.
Geography
The area around Stirling is made up of farmlands with some forests heavily in sporadic areas with some hills. Rawdon Creek flows near the village centre, the Marsh Creek is to the west and the
Trent River with the
Trent Canal
Trent may refer to:
Places Italy
* Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom
* Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany
* Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States
* Trent, California ...
in the southwest. Its main industry is agriculture with some other businesses. The attractions are River Valley and Stirling's nearby lake Oak Lake which lies south of the community.
Stirling has many events and attractions to draw in tourists. The Stirling Festival Theatre performs live professional plays. Also, the Hastings County Museum of Agricultural Heritage, now known as Farmtown Park has 9 buildings boasting over of display area.
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, Stirling-Rawdon 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.
Schools
The village of Stirling is home to one elementary school belonging to the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board. This school includes grades kindergarten to 8. This school is now open as of November 2013. The town of Stirling does not have a high school, so grade 9 students generally attend
Bayside Secondary School (Quinte West)
Bayside Secondary School is a High school#Canada, high school in Quinte West, Ontario, Canada and is part of the Hastings & Prince Edward District School Board. It is one of the largest high schools by area in North America.
Bayside offers grade ...
or
St. Theresa Catholic Secondary School in Belleville, with a small number also attending
Centre Hastings Secondary School
Central Hastings School (CHS) is a K-12 school located in Madoc, Ontario in Hastings County serving 800+ students from across Centre Hastings. They offer Specialized High Skills Major which is a specialized high school diploma where students focus ...
.
Notable people
People associated with Stirling include NHL players
Rob Ray
Robert John Ray (born June 8, 1968) is a Canadian sports broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player for the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators. He was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy by the National Hockey League in 1999 for ...
,
Matt Cooke
Matthew David Cooke (born September 7, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played sixteen seasons and 1046 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Cooke won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the ...
,
Eric Manlow and
Atlanta Thrashers scout Mark Dobson.
Tourism
Farmtown Park, previously known as the Hasting County Museum of Agricultural Heritage, was opened in 1997 and has 9 buildings that reflect upon the agricultural heritage of the area. Open between Victoria Day and the end of September, some highlights include the dairy museum, steam engine display, tractor building, harvest building and Heritage Village streetscape.
Stirling also boasts a popular hometown theatre which was opened in 1927, but it was hardly used until the formation of the Stirling Performing Arts Committee in 1982. The theatre is home to yearly pantomimes, musicals, comedy shows, and more.
The Stirling Grand Trunk Railway Station was refurbished in 2008 for the town's 150th Anniversary celebrations. Situated along the old
Grand Junction Railway of Canada
The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was a short-line railway in Ontario, Canada. It ran between Peterborough and Belleville. It was originally designed to be a loop, starting near Toronto and running northeast to Peterborough, then southeast to me ...
Belleville to Peterborough line, this architectural piece of history hosts museum tours and visitor information sessions seasonally between Victoria Day weekend and Labour Day.
Images
Image:Stirling ON.JPG, Stirling
Image:Bonarlawsign20081228.jpg, Bonarlaw
Image:Stmarksbonarlawsouthelev20081228.jpg, St. Marks Anglican Church, Bonarlaw - South Elevation
Image:Stmarksbonarlawnorthelev20081228.jpg, St. Marks Anglican Church in Bonarlaw
See also
*
List of townships in Ontario
References
External links
*
{{Hastings County
Township municipalities in Ontario
Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario
Municipalities in Hastings County