Grenville County, Ontario
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Grenville County is a former county in the
Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...
of
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 ...
. It fronted on the north shore of the
Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...
, between the towns of Kingston and
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
. The county was created in 1792, and named in honour of
William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (25 October 175912 January 1834) was a British Pittite Tory politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807, but was a supporter of the Whigs (British political party), ...
, who was the British Secretary of State responsible for the colonies in 1790. It consisted of five townships, which were settled primarily by
United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec and Governor General, governor ...
in the late 1700s after the Revolutionary War. Prior to being settled by Europeans, the area was home to many generations of native cultures. Grenville County merged with Leeds County in 1850 to create Leeds and Grenville County. The county covered an area of .


History

Prior to European settlement, numerous Native American villages were present in Grenville County; when the settlers first arrived, these natives still occupied the area and were essentially forced out by the settlements.Goldie A. Connell (1985) ''Augusta: Royal Township Number Seven''. St. Lawrence Printing Co. ltd. The French briefly occupied this area at present-day Johnstown, in what was to become Edwardsburgh township, and at Pointe au Baril (present day Maitland) in what would be Augusta township. These French settlements date back to 1670 and 1759 respectively. In the late 1700s while the region was part of the British Lununberg District in the
Province of Quebec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...
, land was surveyed in and around what would later become Grenville County to be distributed as land grants to the
United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Quebec and governor general of the Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North Ameri ...
s and their families for their loyalty to the Crown. The emphasis of the Crown government was on military defense, economic growth and political stability. The strategy was to increase the population, maintain efficient military districts, and develop political counties and townships to be dotted with agricultural hamlets and towns and commercially-oriented cities. There was not emphasis on industrial development because of lack of basic infrastructure in the region. The first townships laid out were called the Royal Townships. Situated along the St. Lawrence River where land was most productive and travel was convenient, two of these townships were to become part of Grenville County – Edwardsburgh, Royal Township Six, and Augusta, Royal Township Seven. In 1791 the
Province of Upper Canada The Province of Upper 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 Province of Quebec since 1763. Upper ...
was created from part of the Province of Quebec. The Upper Canada partition of Lunenberg District was renamed Eastern District in 1792; Grenville County was one of the counties created in 1792. Shortly after the Loyalist refugee arrivals, Irish and Scottish immigrants began to settle in the area as well. The European settlers dotted the new townships with small agricultural communities which were mostly self-sustaining. These communities were established out of necessity, as roads in the area were not well-established during nineteenth century and people were travelling on foot or via horse and buggy. Every few kilometres, a village or hamlet was usually present; these villages usually each had their own churches, schools, cemeteries and temperance halls, as well as pioneer businesses such as cheese factories, saw and grist mills, blacksmiths, limekilns, post offices, general stores or asheries. Most residents made their living through small-scale mixed farming operations. But there was an ennui; the Durham Report led to merging the Colony of Upper Canada on 10 February 1841 as Canada West into the (United) Province of Canada, thus assuring lower cost funding for long term improvements in Canada West and more dynamic prospects in
British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...
. One reason counties existed was so inhabitants could conduct legal transactions efficiently, as each county was the seat of a county court. As transportation improved within some counties, their political consolidation with neighboring counties could occur leading to better integration and centralization efficiencies. On 1 January 1850, Grenville county was amalgamated with the neighbouring county of Leeds, to become the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, while Johnstown District was abolished. Prior to confederation, the area of Upper Canada was divided by districts, which held the counties, which held the townships; districts changed often in name and in area making records from this era appear confusing. During the mid-1800s within Canada West, counties began amalgamating as transportation improved and the districts were dropped as counties increased in population. At the founding of the Dominion of
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
on 1 July 1867, Grenville County, amalgamated with Leeds, became part of Ontario, with Ontario now being divided neatly by counties.


Territorial evolution

The original county was constituted in 1792, and was an
electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
for the new
Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Li ...
: In 1798, the
Parliament of Upper Canada The Parliament of Upper Canada was the legislature for Upper Canada. It was created when the old Province of Quebec was split into Upper Canada and Lower Canada by the Constitutional Act of 1791. As in other Westminster-style legislatures, it ...
withdrew parts of Grenville and
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
to form Carleton County and the three counties together were constituted as Johnstown District, effective at the beginning of 1800. Grenville consisted of the following townships: In 1838, the townships of Marlborough and North Gower were transferred to Carleton County, and the township of Montague was transferred to
Lanark County Lanark County is a county and Census divisions of Canada, census division located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is Perth, Ontario, Perth, which was first settled in 1816Brown, Howard Morton, 1984. Lanark Legacy, Nineteenth ...
. When the Johnstown District was abolished in 1850, Grenville County was united with Leeds County to form the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville.


Original townships

The five remaining townships at 1838 were Augusta, Edwardsburgh, Oxford-on-Rideau, South Gower, and Wolford. * Augusta township (still exists), covers an area of . It was first surveyed in 1783, and was named in honour of Princess Augusta Sophia, second daughter and sixth child of
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
. This township is located along the southern border of Leeds and Grenville along the St. Lawrence River. *Edwardsburgh township (now Edwardsburgh/Cardinal), covers an area of . The township was first surveyed in 1783, and was named in honour of Prince Edward, fourth son and fifth child of George III. This township is located along the southern border of Leeds and Grenville along the St. Lawrence River, east of Augusta township. *Oxford-on-Rideau township (Now part of North Grenville), covered an area of and was first surveyed in 1791. The township was later amalgamated in the 1990s with South Gower township and the town of Kemptville to become North Grenville. This township was located north of both Edwardsburgh and Augusta townships, between Wolford and South Gower. *South Gower township (Now part of North Grenville), covered an area of and was first surveyed in 1799. This township was located north of Edwardsburgh. *Wolford township (now the village-status municipality of Merrickville-Wolford) covered an area of and was first surveyed in 1795. It was named for the Devonshire seat of
John Graves Simcoe Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...
. This township was located west of Oxford-on-Rideau, and north of Augusta. In the 1990s, Wolford township became known as its own municipality, and was renamed Merrickville–Wolford.


See also

*
List of Ontario census divisions The Province of Ontario has 51 first-level administrative divisions, which collectively cover the whole province. With two exceptions, their areas match the 49 census divisions Statistics Canada has for Ontario. The Province has four types of ...
*
List of townships in Ontario This is a list of township (Canada), townships in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Townships are listed by List of census divisions of Ontario, census division. Northern Ontario Northeastern Ontario Algoma D ...
* Augusta Township * Edwardsburgh/Cardinal Township * North Grenville Township * Leeds and Grenville County * Johnstown, Ontario * Spencerville, Ontario * Maitland, Ontario * North Augusta, Ontario * Prescott, Ontario * Kemptville, Ontario * Merrickville–Wolford, Ontario *
Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, 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 Province of Queb ...


References


External links


1951 map of Grenville County
{{coord, 44, 50, N, 75, 40, W, region:CA_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Former counties in Ontario