Shakespeare is a village and
designated place
A designated place (DPL) is a type of community or settlement identified by Statistics Canada that does not meet the criteria used to define municipalities or population centres. DPLs are delineated every 5 years for the Canadian census as the ...
within the municipality of
Perth East
The Township of Perth East is a municipality in Perth County, Ontario, Canada and situated north of Stratford. It was created in 1998 when the Ontario government amalgamated the village of Milverton with the surrounding former townships of El ...
in
Perth County,
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 ...
,
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 ...
. Shakespeare is located on the
Highway 7/
8, just east of
Stratford and west of the
Kitchener/Waterloo Region.
History
Shakespeare was founded in 1832 by David Bell, a Scottish emigrate from
Dumfriesshire, Scotland and was previously known as Bell's Corner. The name was changed Shakespeare in 1852 when Alexander Mitchell suggested naming the town after his
favourite playwright.
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, Shakespeare had a population of 160 living in 71 of its 103 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 170. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Events
Every year Shakespeare celebrates the community with its own holiday, called Field day, which is celebrated on the second Saturday of June. The event begins with the annual Fireman's Breakfast at the Shakespeare Optimist Hall, followed by a soap box derby, baseball games in the morning and a themed parade at 1 pm. Throughout the day there are free, fun events for children including races, games, and jumpy castles. In the evening, the town gathers for the Shakespeare Community Athletic Association (SCAA) Fish Fry and Dance. Shakespeare celebrated its 70th Field day in 2017, the theme was Canada's 150th - through the decades.
References
*
Communities in Perth County, Ontario
Designated places in Ontario
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