Halton 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 ...

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 ...

, with an area of . It is also one of the oldest counties in

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History

Halton County is named after

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

William Mathew Halton (1746–1823), a

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officer, who was appointed in England in 1805 as Secretary to Upper Canada Lieutenant-Governor Sir Francis Gore and spent little time in Canada during his posting (served two terms, 1806–1811 and 1815–1816). Settlers started to arrive in the area in the early 1780s. The south was first settled 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 ...

, and the north was settled mainly by immigrants from the British Isles. In 1788, the area became part of the Nassau District, which was renamed the

Home District The Home District was one of four districts of the Province of Quebec created in 1788 in the western reaches of the Montreal District and detached in 1791 to create the new colony of Upper Canada. It was abolished with the adoption of the county ...

in 1792.

Historic townships

* Esquesing Township (area ). Opened in 1819, the first town meeting was held in 1821 when the population was 424. The name ''Esquesing'' was said to come from an Indigenous word meaning "the land of the tall pine(s)", but is more likely to come from the

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

word ''ishkwessin'', meaning "that which lies at the end",FREELANG Ojibwe-English and English-Ojibwe online dictionary
/ref> which was the original name for Bronte Creek. Community centres were Georgetown, Acton, Glen Williams, Stewarttown, Norval,

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throu ...

. * Nassagaweya Township (area ). Opened in 1819, its name was derived from the Mississauga word ''niizhozaagiwan'', meaning "having two outlets", which was the original name of the Sixteen Mile Creek. Community centres were Campbellville, Darbyville and Eden Mills. * Nelson Township (area ) Opened in 1806 and named in honour of

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

. Community centre: Burlington. * Trafalgar Township (area ), opened in 1806, the year after the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

. The township was settled in 1807. Community centres were Milton, Oakville, Bronte.

First Nations land surrenders

The lands that eventually formed part of Halton were acquired from the Mississauga Indians as follows:

Municipal organization and evolution

Along with Wentworth County, Halton County was created in 1816 as part of the Gore District, consisting of the townships of Trafalgar, Nelson, Flamborough, and Beverley, together with certain blocks of land on the Grand River and reserved lands to the rear of the townships of Blenheim and Blandford. In 1821, the county was expanded through the addition of the townships of Esquesing, Erin, Nassagaweya, Eramosa, and Garafraxa, together with certain church land. In 1838, on the creation of Wellington District, the townships of Garafraxa, Nichol, Woolwich, Guelph, Waterloo, Wilmot, Dumfries, Puslinch, Erin and Eramosa were withdrawn from Halton and transferred to it, to be known as Waterloo County. Upon the passage of the

Act of Union 1840 The ''British North America Act, 1840'' ( 3 & 4 Vict. c. 35), also known as the ''Act of Union 1840'', () was approved by Parliament in July 1840 and proclaimed February 10, 1841, in Montreal. It abolished the legislatures of Lower Canada and ...

, for electoral purposes Halton became two ridings for electing members to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

: :* East Riding: the townships of Trafalgar, Nelson, Esquesing, Nassagaweya, East Flamborough, West Flamborough, Erin and Beverley. :* West Riding: the townships of Garafraxa, Nichol, Woolwich, Guelph, Waterloo, Wilmot, Dumfries, Puslinch and Eramosa. When the East and West Ridings were renamed for their respective counties in 1845, the township of Erin continued to be part of Halton for electoral purposes. When the Gore District was abolished in 1850, the township of Erin was fully withdrawn and Halton County was united with Wentworth County to form the United Counties of Wentworth and Halton. As a result of a territorial reorganization in 1851, Halton County was reduced in size, with only the townships of Esquesing, Trafalgar, Nassageweya and Nelson remaining, and the union of counties was abolished in 1854. As settlement progressed, several urban areas developed and were organized into separate villages and towns: :* Acton: incorporated as a village in 1874, and erected into a town in 1950. :* Bronte: incorporated as a village in 1952. :* Burlington: incorporated as a village in 1872, and erected into a town in 1915. :* Georgetown: incorporated as a village in 1864, and erected into a town in 1921. :* Milton: incorporated as a town in 1857. :* Oakville: incorporated as a town in 1857. In 1861, the County population was about 22,794. In 1958, Burlington amalgamated with the township of Nelson and annexed part of the township of East Flamborough. Oakville did the same in 1962, through amalgamation with Bronte and the township of Trafalgar. As a consequence, special legislation was passed to provide that votes of members of the county council were to be allocated according to the populations of the respective municipalities, provided that the combined number of votes for Burlington and Oakville would not be greater than the total votes allocated to the remaining municipalities. In 1974, Halton County was replaced by the Regional Municipality of Halton.

References

External links

Esquesing Historical SocietyHalton Images1951 map of Halton County
{{coord, 43, 35, N, 79, 55, W, region:CA_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Former counties in Ontario 1816 establishments in Canada History of the Regional Municipality of Halton Populated places disestablished in 1974