Brighton is a town in Northumberland County,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, approximately east of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and west of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. It is traversed by both

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 prov ...

and the former Highway 2. The west end of the Murray Canal that leads east to the

Bay of Quinte The Bay of Quinte () is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of ...

is at the east end of the town. It is home to over 12,108 inhabitants, with a higher than average percentage of those retired. Presqu'ile Provincial Park, just south of the town centre, is one of Brighton's most popular attractions. The park is notable for

bird-watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

and other nature-oriented activities. Memory Junction Railway Museum, located in a former Grand Trunk station, has a collection of rail equipment and memorabilia. In late September, Brighton is host to

Applefest Applefest is a yearly village-wide food, entertainment and crafts fair, taking place in several towns in Canada, the United States and England. Canada Brighton, Ontario Brighton, Ontario's Applefest, founded in 1975, is held annually on the las ...

, its largest yearly festival.

Geography

Communities

Besides the town proper of Brighton, the municipality of Brighton comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communities: * Carman * Codrington * Hilton * Spring Valley * Smithfield (partially) * Butler Creek * Cankerville * Cedar Creek * Gosport * Orland * Presqui'le Point * Wade Corners

Artificial island area of Brighton

Part of the current Municipality of Brighton is on a separate artificial island. This is a consequence of the borders chosen when the Township of Brighton was created in 1851, and the excavation of the Murray Canal across the Isthmus of Murray. The Murray Canal opened in 1889.

History

Brighton was incorporated as a village on January 1, 1859. On December 1, 1980, it became a town. The original Simpson house, at 61 Simpson Street, was built in 1850. Brighton developed primarily into an agricultural community, specializing in the farming of apples and production of new apple types. However, in recent years, many of the original orchards in the area have been partially removed, to make way for the steadily growing population, and more profitable agricultural produce, such as wheat, corn and soybeans. On January 1, 2001, the current Municipality of Brighton was formed through an amalgamation of the former Town of Brighton and Brighton Township.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Brighton 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.

Media

* Brighton Independent (Metroland Media Group) *Oldies 100.9 (My Broadcasting) *Edville Gazette (Independently Published)

Notable residents

* Eddie Hayward, racehorse trainer who won the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

* Mark Kellogg,

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

correspondent killed at the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Si ...

Gail Vaz-Oxlade Gail Vaz-Oxlade (born June 18, 1959) is a Jamaican Canadians, Jamaican-Canadian financial screenwriter, writer and television personality. Vaz-Oxlade hosts the Canadians, Canadian television series ''Til Debt Do Us Part'', ''Princess (TV series), ...

, financial writer and television personality. Host of the Slice series '' Til Debt Do Us Part'' and''

Princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places on Lake Ontario in Canada Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in Northumberland County, Ontario