Midland District was one of four districts of 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 ...
created in 1788 in the western reaches of the
Montreal District and partitioned in 1791 to create the new colony of
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 ...
.
Historical evolution
The District, originally known as Mecklenburg District (named after
Mecklenburg Castle in the
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...
region of Germany), was constituted in 1788 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 ...
, and was described as:
In 1792, the following electoral counties were established in the District:
*
Addington
*
Frontenac
*
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
*
Lennox
*
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 ...
*
Prince Edward
The District was renamed as "Midland District" in 1792, and its jail and courthouse were established in
Kingston.
At the beginning of 1800, Lennox and Addington were combined to form the
incorporated counties of Lennox and Addington, and the islands comprising Ontario were divided between Frontenac and Lennox and Addington. The general boundaries of the District were also altered so that it comprised:
In 1829, Hugh Macdonald (the father of
future first Canadian Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, who at the time would have been ~14 years old) was appointed magistrate for the Midland District.
Prince Edward County was separated in 1831 to form
Prince Edward District, and Hastings County was split off in 1837 to form
Victoria District. Lennox and Addington regained their separate identities in 1845, but still remained united for electoral purposes.
At the beginning of 1850, the district was abolished, and the
United Counties of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington replaced it for municipal and judicial purposes.
See also
*
Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute - founded in 1807 as Midland Grammar School replacing Kingston Grammar School (c. 1792)
Further reading
*Armstrong, Frederick H. Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology. Toronto : Dundurn Press, 1985.
Changing Shape of Ontario: Early Districts and Counties
References
{{Districts of Upper Canada
Districts of Upper Canada
1788 establishments in the Province of Quebec (1763–1791)
1849 disestablishments in Canada