Zorra is a township in Oxford County, situated in south-western

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 to ...

. A predominantly rural municipality, Zorra was formed in 1975 through the amalgamation of East Nissouri, West Zorra and North Oxford townships. It is best known for the Highland Games weekend held each summer in Embro, celebrating the heritage of the Scottish pioneer families which grew from the 1830s to form nearly a quarter of the county's population.

Government

The municipal government is led by a mayor and a councillor from each of the township's four geographic wards: * Ward 1: Southern portion of township, the former North Oxford township (including Banner, Golspie), excluding Thamesford * Ward 2: Thamesford * Ward 3: Northwest portion of township, the former East Nissouri township (including Kintore, Uniondale) * Ward 4: Northeast portion of township, the former West Zorra township (including Embro, Maplewood) Marcus Ryan is the current mayor, following the 2018 Ontario municipal elections.

Communities

The township comprises the communities of Banner, Bennington, Brooksdale, Brown's Corners, Cody's Corners, Dicksons Corners, Dunn's Corner, Embro, Golspie, Granthurst, Harrington, Harrington West, Holiday, Kintore, Lakeside, Maplewood, McConkey, Medina, Rayside, Thamesford, Uniondale, Youngsville, and Zorra Station.

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 cultu ...

, Zorra 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.

Cultural resources

*Thamesford Public Library: 165 Dundas Street, Thamesford. A branch of the Oxford County Library. *Embro Public Library : 135 Huron St., Embro. A branch of the Oxford County Library, it is located in the former Embro Town Hall. * Harrington Community Library : 539 Victoria St, Harrington. A branch of the Oxford County Library. Located in the former Broadview United Church that was built in 1924. * Harrington Schoolhouse (Community Centre) : 963624 County Road 96. The Old Stone School; initially referred to as S.S. number 17, and subsequently renumbered S.S. number 4, was originally constructed of logs in the mid-1800s. An entrance was located at the north side of the school, and a box stove was used for heating. In 1869, a contract was granted to enlarge the school with a stone addition, to address seating, lighting and other requirements. Purchased by several local residents to be used as a community centre, after the formal closure of one room schools. *Thamesford District Recreation Centre: 85 Middleton street the Haverford arena the skatepark located beside it is a popular location for teens to make out passionately Schools include the Zorra Highland Park Public School, Thamesford Public School, A. J. Baker Public School and St. Joseph's Catholic School.

Attractions

*Embro Highland Games, hosted annually by the Zorra Caledonian Society *Embro Truck & Tractor Pull *Wienerfest Dog Festival, celebrating the world of

Dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: " badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety o ...

s to provide funding for pet rescue *Garagefest, an annual local music festival to raise funds for various charities *Embro Fall Fair *Calathumpian a celebration of Thamesfords heritage and history

Famous people

* Henry John Cody (1868–1951), MPP and President of the University of Toronto *

Ralph Connor Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

(1860–1937), novelist * Jonathan Goforth (1859–1936), missionary to China *

Mark Hominick Mark Jeffrey Hominick (born July 22, 1982) is a Canadian retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he was the inaugural Featherweight title challenger, the WEC, and A ...

* Bob Hayward * James K.A. Smith * George Leslie Mackay * Thomas Oliver * Elizabeth Wettlaufer, convicted serial killer

References

External links

* {{Geographic location , Centre = Zorra , North =

Perth South Perth South was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1935. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867, which divided the County of Perth ...

, Northeast = Perth East , East = East Zorra-Tavistock , Southeast = , South =

South-West Oxford South-West Oxford is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Oxford County. The township had a population of 7,664 in the 2016 Canadian census. A predominantly rural municipality, South-West Oxford was formed in 1975 throug ...

, Ingersoll , Southwest = , West =

Thames Centre Thames Centre is a municipality in Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada, directly east of the City of London. It was formed on January 1, 2001, when the townships of West Nissouri and North Dorchester were amalgamated. It is part of the London cens ...

, Northwest = Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in Oxford County, Ontario Township municipalities in Ontario