Northumberland County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

situated on the north shore of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

, 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 ...

Central Ontario Central Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario that lies between Georgian Bay and the eastern end of Lake Ontario. The population of the region was 1,123,307 in 2016; however, this number does not in ...

, Canada. The Northumberland County headquarters are located in Cobourg.

Municipalities

Northumberland County consists of seven municipalities: The Alderville First Nation is geographically located within the County and is a part of the Northumberland census division, but, as an

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...

, it is independent of county administration.

History

The County was first established in 1792, and was organized alongside neighbouring Durham County into the Newcastle District 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 ...

in 1802. The County was initially settled by a mix of Irish, Scottish, and English immigrants, as well as by Americans immigrating north from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. In 1850, the Newcastle District was reorganized into the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham, an arrangement which lasted until 1973. Effective January 1, 1974, the majority of Durham County was amalgamated with Ontario County to create the Regional Municipality of Durham. The Township of Hope and the Town of Port Hope were transferred to Northumberland, which reverted to a standalone county.

Demographics

As a

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic uni ...

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 ...

, Northumberland County 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.

Recreation

There are two provincial parks in Northumberland County: Presqu'ile Provincial Park in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, and Ferris Provincial Park in

Campbellford Campbellford is an unincorporated place and former town in Northumberland County, Ontario, Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada, in the List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, township municipality of Trent Hills. It lies ...

. There are also several other protected natural areas and forests, including Ganaraska Forest
Northumberland County Forest
Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area, and Peter's Woods. Waterfront campsites and cottages are located along

and Rice Lake. Northumberland County has various cycling, hiking and other outdoor trails. The Waterfront Trail along Lake Ontario passes through Northumberland County, as does the Trans-Canada Trail. The Northumberland portion of the Trans-Canada Trail spans from

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 ...

to Hoard's Station in

, following an abandoned rail line. Halfway through Campbellford, the trail joins the 6 km long Rotary Trail situated alongside the Trent River. There are five signed bike routes
Glorious GanaraskaRice Lake RambleShelter ValleyPresqu’ile Promise
an
Trent River Truckin'
The Northumberland County Forest offers various trails available for hiking, cycling, horseback riding, ATVing, off-road motorcycling, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing as well as a 3.2 km, accessible
Universal Trail
The Ganaraska Hiking Trail starts in Port Hope and goes north towards the Bruce Trail. There are three theatres in Northumberland County: Westben in Campbellford, the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope, and the Park Theatre & Performing Arts Centre in Cobourg. Festivals in Northumberland include the Warkworth Maple Syrup and Float Your Fanny Down the Ganny festivals in early spring, the Cobourg Sandcastle Festival and Incredible Edibles Festival in the summer, and the Cultivate Food and Vintage Film Festivals in the fall.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Subdivisions of Ontario Counties in Ontario