South Dundas is a municipality in eastern

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 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 ...

, in the

United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (SDG) is an upper-tier municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario that comprises three historical counties and excludes the City of Cornwall and the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne. However, ...

along the north shore of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

. It is located approximately 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and is midway between Kingston and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

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Communities

The Municipality of South Dundas comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communities: * The western portion, in the former Matilda Township: Brinston, Dixons Corners, Dundela, Glen Stewart, Hanesville, Hulbert, Irena, Iroquois, Stampville; ''Haddo'', ''Pleasant Valley'', ''Rowena'', ''Toyes Hill''; ''Iroquois Beach'', ''New Ross'', ''Oak Valley'' (partially), ''Pinetree Point'', ''Rapide Plat Point'', ''Robertson Point'', ''Straders Hill'' * The eastern portion, in the former Williamsburg Township: Dunbar, Elma, Glen Becker, Morrisburg, Riverside Heights, Williamsburg, Winchester Springs (partially); ''Archer'', ''Beckstead'', ''Boucks Hill'', ''Colquhoust'', ''Froatburn'', ''Grantley'' (partially), ''Hoasic'', ''Mariatown'', ''Nudell Bush'', ''Orchardside''; ''Colquhoun'', ''Crysler Beach'', ''Doran Point'', ''Marina Bay'', ''Morrisburg Beach'', ''Muttonville'', ''The Sixth'', ''Whitney Point'' The municipal administrative offices are located in Morrisburg.

History

The county was named in 1792 to honour

Henry Dundas Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, PC, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was the trusted lieutenant of British Prime Minister William Pitt and the most powerful politician in Scotland in the late 18t ...

, who was Lord Advocate for Scotland and Colonial Secretary at the time. Matilda and Williamsburgh were two of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

's original eight Royal Townships. The northern portions of Matilda and Williamsburg townships were separated in 1798 to form the new townships of

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

and

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

within Dundas County. The McIntosh apple was discovered and cultivated in South Dundas near Williamsburg. John McIntosh's parents emigrated from

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

to the

Mohawk Valley The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, th ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and John moved to Upper Canada in 1796. In 1811 he acquired a farm in Dundela, and while clearing the land of second growth discovered several apple seedlings. He transplanted these, and one bore the superior fruit which became famous as the McIntosh Red apple. John's son Allan established a nursery and promoted this new species extensively. It was widely acclaimed in Ontario and the northern United States, and was introduced into British Columbia about 1910. During 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 ...

, several battles were fought in Dundas County, present day South Dundas. The Battle of Matilda, Battle of Doran's Farm, and the

Battle of Crysler's Farm The Battle of Crysler's Farm, also known as the Battle of Crysler's Field, was fought on 11 November 1813, during the War of 1812 (the name ''Chrysler's Farm'' is sometimes used for the engagement, but ''Crysler'' is the proper spelling). A Briti ...

were all fought in Dundas along the St. Lawrence River. As well, the Dundas Militia built numerous earthworks and breastworks along the river to fortify the area from attack, in 1814, the earthwork at Point Iroquois was expanded to include a blockhouse, but due to the construction so late in the war, and the relative peace, the fort was called Fort Needless. Morrisburg took its name from James Morris, Canada's first postmaster general. Morris also played an important role in

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

-building in the area.

James Pliny Whitney Sir James Pliny Whitney (October 2, 1843 – September 25, 1914) was a Canadian politician and lawyer in the province of Ontario. He served as Conservative member of the legislature for Dundas from 1888 and as the sixth premier of Ontario from 1 ...

, Ontario's sixth

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

, is buried here in the cemetery of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Riverside Heights, just east of Morrisburg and north of County Road 2 (formerly Highway 2). Whitney was born in Williamsburg in 1843, represented Dundas County in the Legislature from 1888 to 1914 and served as Premier from 1905 to 1914. Iroquois ON

Morrisburg and Iroquois were partially flooded by the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1958. Unlike the Lost Villages of Cornwall and Osnabruck Townships, however, the two towns were simply relocated to higher ground in the same area. There was an international design competition in 1954 to design the new Iroquois townsite. Canadian-British architect

Wells Coates Wells Wintemute Coates OBE (December 17, 1895 – June 17, 1958) was an architect, designer and writer. He was, for most of his life, an expatriate Canadian who is best known for his work in England, the most notable of which is the Modernist bl ...

was among those who submitted redevelopment concepts. An artificial lake, Lake Saint Lawrence, now extends from a hydroelectric dam at

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

to the control structure at Iroquois, and replaces the formerly narrow and turbulent section of river that was impassable to large vessels. It replaces, in part, the

Long Sault Long Sault was a rapid in the St. Lawrence River upstream and west of Cornwall, Ontario. ''Sault'' is the archaic spelling of the French word ''saut'', meaning rapids. The Long Sault created a navigation barrier along the river for much of its ...

rapids. Several buildings from the Lost Villages were moved to a site near Morrisburg to create

Upper Canada Village Upper Canada Village is a heritage park near Morrisburg, Ontario, which depicts a 19th-century village in Upper Canada. History Construction of Upper Canada Village began in 1958 as part of the St. Lawrence Seaway project, which required the ...

, a

living museum A living museum, also known as a living history museum, is a type of museum which recreates historical settings to simulate a past time period, providing visitors with an experiential interpretation of history. It is a type of museum that recr ...

which depicts 19th century life in

. In 1976, stuntman

Ken Carter Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

attempted to jump a one-mile portion of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

by taking a one million dollar

Lincoln Continental The Lincoln Continental is a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars produced by Lincoln, a division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. The model line was introduced following the construction of a personal vehicle for Edse ...

rocket car off an eight-storey ramp. This was billed as ''The Super Jump''. The ramp and its runway were located in a field just west of Hanes Road, South of County road 2. The ramp has since been demolished, but the concrete runway still exists as of 2012. The municipality was established on January 1, 1998, with the amalgamation of the former townships of Matilda and Williamsburg, along with the former villages of Iroquois and Morrisburg. Charles A. Barkley, who was elected mayor of the municipality in the 2006 municipal elections, died unexpectedly on June 17, 2009. He had been a municipal politician since 1981, when he joined the Township of Matilda council. He was succeeded by deputy mayor Robert Gillard."Popular, generous South Dundas Mayor found dead at 59"
''

Cornwall Standard Freeholder The ''Cornwall Standard-Freeholder'' is a daily newspaper based in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. It has been in circulation for many years, and continues to be the newspaper with the largest circulation inside the Montreal - Ottawa - Kingston tri ...

'', June 2009.

Demographics

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 ...

, South Dundas 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.

Transportation

The only

provincial highway Numbered highways in Canada are split by province, and a majority are maintained by their province or territory transportation department. All highways in Canada are numbered except for three in the Northwest Territories, one in Alberta, one in O ...

directly serving the municipality is

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provin ...

. All other highway routes in the municipality, including Highway 2 and

Highway 31 The following highways are numbered 31: International * Asian Highway 31 * European route E31 Australia * Hume Highway ** Hume Motorway ** Hume Freeway * - South Australia ** Gorge Road ** Little Para Road ** South Para Road ** Lyndoch V ...

, were decommissioned by the province in the 1990s, and were folded into Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry's

county road A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the County (United States), county highway departme ...

system. Highway 416, the main route from the 401 to

, has its southern terminus at Johnstown in the neighbouring township of

Edwardsburgh/Cardinal Edwardsburgh/Cardinal is a township in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville of eastern Ontario, Canada. Edwardsburgh township was first surveyed in 1783, and incorporated in 1850. The township was part of the historical Grenville County be ...

. Morrisburg is served by a small, unattended

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

adjacent to Upper Canada Village. Iroquois is served by a small unattended airport near the locks.

Sport

The

Morrisburg Lions The Morrisburg Lions are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Morrisburg, Ontario. They are members of the National Capital Junior Hockey Leaguecommencing with the 2015-16 season. Prior to this the Lions were members of the Eastern Ontario ...

of 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 second tier to the Central Canada Hockey League. The 1 ...

play out of the Morrisburg Arena. Thoroughbred racing pioneer

Francine Villeneuve Francine Alicia Villeneuve (born July 22, 1964) is a Canadian retired thoroughbred jockey and racing pioneer. She is sometimes referred to by the nickname "The Queen of Fort Erie" because of a long affiliation with the border oval. With 1,001 ...

grew up in the community of Winchester Springs.

References

External links

* {{Geographic location , Center=South Dundas , North= North Dundas , Northeast=

North Stormont North Stormont is a lower tier township in eastern Ontario, Canada in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. Communities The township of North Stormont comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communiti ...

, East=

South Stormont South Stormont is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. It is located southeast of Ottawa. South Stormont borders on, but does not include, the city of Cornwall. Communities The towns ...

, Southeast= , South=''

''
{{flagicon, US{{flagicon, NY Waddington , Southwest= , West=

, Northwest=

North Grenville North Grenville is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville on the Rideau River. It is located just south of Ottawa in Canada's National Capital Region. It was established on January 1, 1998, through t ...

Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Ontario populated places on the Saint Lawrence River