Selwyn is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in central-eastern

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 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 ...

, located in

Peterborough County Peterborough County is a county and census division located in Southern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is the City of Peterborough, which is independent of the county. The southern section of the county is mix of agriculture, urban and lakef ...

. The township comprises a mix of rural areas and built up urban areas (former independent towns and villages). The township was created in 2001, as Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield, changing its name to Selwyn effective January 15, 2013. It is not to be confused with the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Selwyn, one of many

unincorporated areas An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

within the township.

History

On January 1, 1998, Ennismore and Smith Townships were amalgamated to form the Township of Smith-Ennismore. On January 1, 2001, a Minister's Order created the currentlargertownship by amalgamating the formerly independent Village of Lakefield with the Township of Smith-Ennismore and part of Douro–Dummer Township. In December 2012, the township council voted to select a new name after

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...

notified many residents that addresses would have to be changed to reflect the municipality due to a phasing out of its

rural route Rural delivery service refers to services for the delivery of mail to rural areas. In many countries, rural mail delivery follows different rules and practices from that in urban areas. For example, in some areas rural delivery may require homeo ...

system. The council chose to focus on a simpler name, reducing what it felt was confusion regarding the collective purposerather than a persistent notion of disparate partsintended by the history of amalgamations. By a vote of 3 to 2, choosing from a slate of new names, the township council voted to adopt the new name of Selwyn, effective January 2013.

Geography

The township comprises the communities of: * Bridgenorth * Buckhorn * Chemong Heights * Chemong Park * Connaught Shore * Deer Bay * Emerald Isle * Ennismore * Fife's Bay * Flood's Landing * Fowlers Corners * Gannon Beach * Gannon Village * Kawartha Park * Kimberley Park * Lakefield, Selwyn * Selwyn Shores * Stewart Heights * Terra View Heights * Tindle Bay * Victoria Springs * Village Meadows * Windward Sands * Woodland Acres * Young's Cove * Young's Point * Youngstown The township is The Trent-Severn Waterway passes through the township.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

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 ...

, Selwyn 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. Mother tongue (2021): * English as first language: 94.5% * French as first language: 0.8% * English and French as first language: 0.4% * Other as first language: 3.9%

Economy

The region is in the heart of Ontario's eastern

cottage country Cottage country is a common name in Ontario, New Brunswick, and other regions of Canada for areas that are popular locations for recreational properties such as cottages and summer homes. In the Greater Toronto Area, cottage country traffic r ...

, where urban residents (mostly from the Toronto region) have cottages on many of the small lakes. Many of the retail and services offered in the region cater to this seasonal market. Small scale farms are a main industry, and dairy and meat production are some of the notable goods.

Government

In the 2010 municipal election, Mary Smith won the position of reeve (now mayor) from former reeve Ron Millen by 1,355 votes. Former federal Member of Parliament Andy Mitchell succeeded Smith as deputy reeve. In the 2022 municipal elections, Sherry Senis was acclaimed mayor after serving as councillor. The previous mayor, Andy Mitchell, did not seek reelection.

Education

Near the village is

Lakefield College School Lakefield College School (sometimes called LCS, The Grove or simply Lakefield) is a private day and boarding school located north of the village of Lakefield, Ontario. It was the first Canadian member of Round Square, an international affiliatio ...

which

Prince Andrew, Duke of York Prince Andrew, Duke of York (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger bro ...

attended in 1977, however was dropped as an honorary chairman due to sexual abuse allegations. In the village itself is the Lakefield District Public School, which opened in 2018 after the Ridpath Junior Public School, named after James William Ridpath, publisher in the late 19th century and early 20th century of the Lakefield News, local businessman, sportsman and dignitary, was closed. LDPS took over the building formerly used for the now closed Lakefield District Secondary School. St. Paul's Catholic School is situated nearby.

Popular culture

In Paul Nicholas Mason's novel ''Battered Soles'' (2005), Mason's second novel, ''The Red Dress'' (2008),

In film

* Lakefield and Lakefield College School were used as the location for the 1977 Canadian film '' Age of Innocence''. One memorable scene * In the * ''Unheralded'' (2011), a

National Film Board The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by Aaron Hancox,

Notable people

Charles Arkoll Boulton Charles Arkoll Boulton (April 17, 1841 – May 15, 1899) was an army officer and militia member who played roles in the Red River and North-West Rebellions. Biography He was born in Cobourg, Canada West in 1841, son of D’Arcy Edward Bou ...

, former councillor and reeve, left Ontario and later became senator for

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Sebastian Bach Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and h ...

, rock singer, notable for being the lead singer of the band Skid Row *The Rev. Vincent Mucius Clementi (1812-99), Church of England clergyman at Lakefield, eldest son of famed musician

Muzio Clementi Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi (23 January 1752 – 10 March 1832) was an Italian-British composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor (music), conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer, who was mostly ac ...

* Ronnie "The Hawk" Hawkins, American-born Canadian country musician *

Margaret Laurence Jean Margaret Laurence (née Wemyss; July 18, 1926 – January 5, 1987) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-pr ...

, novelist * Leahy Family, band *

Susanna Moodie Susanna Moodie ( Strickland; 6 December 1803 – 8 April 1885) was an English-born Canadian author who wrote about her experiences as a settler in Canada, which was a British colony at the time. Family Susanna Moodie was born in Bungay, on th ...

, pioneer, writer and newspaper editor * Paul Nicholas Mason, writer *

Paul Reddick Paul Reddick is a Canadian blues singer, songwriter and harmonica player. He was the founder of the group The Sidemen, active from 1990 until the early 2000s. History Born in Toronto, Ontario,Larry LeblancProfile of Paul Reddick Blues Art Journ ...

, blues-rock artist, songwriter, and harp player *

Bruce Ridpath David Bruce Ridpath (January 2, 1884 – June 4, 1925) was a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey player and general manager. He was a member of the 1911 Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Senators (original), Ottawa Senators before an automobile ...

, professional ice hockey player who played on the 1911 Stanley Cup champion

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

Catharine Parr Traill Catharine Parr Traill (born Strickland; 9 January 1802 – 29 August 1899) was an English-Canadian author and naturalist who wrote about life in Canada, particularly what is now Ontario (then the colony of Upper Canada). In the 1830s, Canada ...

, English-born pioneer, writer, naturalist * Mike Fisher, professional hockey player for the Nashville Predators, grew up in Bridgenorth *

Paul Soles Paul Robert Soles (August 11, 1930 – May 26, 2021) was a Canadian character actor, voice artist and television personality. He voiced the title character in ''Spider-Man'' (1967), and portrayed Hermey in the 1964 television special ''Rudolph ...

, Canadian actor, television personality and voice actor famous for being the voice of Hermey in Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and Spider-man in the 1960’s * Thomas Toth, Canadian runner * Tyler Ardron, Canadian international rugby player, Super Rugby player (

Waikato Chiefs The Chiefs (; formerly known as the Waikato Chiefs and officially called the Gallagher Chiefs for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, Waikato. The team competes in the Super Rugby Pacific c ...

), ITM Cup player (

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

) * Trevor Jones, Canadian rower

References

External links

* {{Authority control Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in Peterborough County Township municipalities in Ontario