South Glengarry 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 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 on 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 ...

in the

United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (SDG) is a county and Census divisions of Canada, census division in the Canadian province of Ontario, that comprises three historical county, counties. The county's administrative office is lo ...

. South Glengarry

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, 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, ...

Communities

The township of South Glengarry comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communities: In the former Charlottenburgh Township: *Glen Walter *Green Valley *Martintown *Summerstown *Summerstown Station *St. Raphaels *Williamstown *Avondale *Cashions Glen *Glen Brook *Glendale *Glen Falloch *Glenroy *MacGillivrays Bridge *Munroes Mills *Tyotown *Bayview Estates *Glendale Subdivision *Glen Gordon *Loon Island *North Branch *Camerons Point *Danis Point *Farlingers Point *Flannigans Point *Fraser Point *McGibbons Point *Pilons Point *Prevost Point *Stonehouse Point In the former Lancaster Township: *Bainsville *Brown House Corner *Dalhousie Mills *Glen Nevis *Glen Norman *

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

*North Lancaster *South Lancaster *Bridge End *Curry Hill *Pine Hill *Lancaster Heights *Maple Hill *North Lancaster Station *Picnic Grove *Redwood Estates *Brittania Point *Creg Quay *Faulkners Point *Nadeaus Point *Pointe Mouillee *Westleys Point The township administrative offices are located in

. File:Martintown ON.JPG, Martintown File:NorWesters Loyalist Museum.JPG, Williamstown

History

Charlottenburgh and Lancaster were two of the original eight "Royal Townships", established along the

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 the 1780s. This area 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 ...

. The development of this area was encouraged by Sir John Johnson, then the Superintendent General and Inspector General of Indian Affairs, who had been forced to abandon his land holdings in

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

.assnat.qc.ca: "John JOHNSON (1741-1830)"
/ref> Johnson built a house in Williamstown; the home was completed in 1785 and is now a Canadian National Historic Site, the Sir John Johnson Manor House. A grist mill and saw mill, now gone, were also built on the same location. Williamstown also has the oldest house in Ontario, The Bethune-Thompson House built in 1784. Occupants over the years have included the Reverend John Bethune (1751–1815), the great-great-grandfather of Doctor

Norman Bethune Henry Norman Bethune (; March 4, 1890 – November 12, 1939; zh, t=白求恩) was a Canadian thoracic surgeon, early advocate of socialized medicine, and member of the Communist Party of Canada. Bethune came to international prominence fi ...

, and David Thompson, Canadian explorer. From the late 18th century to the early 19th century, the area was almost entirely settled by

Scottish highlanders The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlan ...

, especially from

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...

, after the

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulted from Scottish Agricultural R ...

Canadian Gaelic Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic (, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada. Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scotia from 1773, with the ...

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

had been spoken in Glengarry County since its first settlement in 1784. Some of the main partners of the

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

, including Hugh McGillis, lived in this area.

Alexander McMartin Alexander McMartin (1788–July 12, 1853) was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada. He was the first person born in Upper Canada to serve in its Legislative Assembly. Early life and career He was born in Charlottenburgh Townshi ...

, the first person born in

to serve in the Legislative Assembly, was from Martintown. The Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame is located in Williamstown. The Nor'Westers and Loyalist Museum is also located in Williamstown. Williamstown is also home to Ontario's oldest continuing agricultural fair, which celebrated its bicentennial in 2012. South Glengarry is the location of four

National Historic Sites of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

: the Bethune-Thompson House, the Glengarry Cairn, the Sir John Johnson House, and the ruins of St. Raphael's Roman Catholic Church. St. Raphael's Catholic Church was completed in 1821 under the authority of Alexander Macdonell later Bishop of Regiopolis (now

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, Ontario). This is one of the oldest churches in what was then the colony of Upper Canada. In late 1970, the church interiors, roof and tower were destroyed by fire, but the ruins were preserved. In 1973, a smaller church with the same name was built, attached to the ruins. The township was established on January 1, 1998, with the amalgamation of the former Townships of Charlottenburgh and Lancaster, along with the Village of Lancaster.

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 ...

, South Glengarry 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.

Culture

Canadian author Hugh Hood mentions Williamstown in his short story "Getting to Williamstown," first published in 1928.

Sport

The Char-Lan Rebels of the CCHL2 League play out of the Char-Lan Recreation Centre in Williamstown. The Char-Lan Skating Club is based out of the Char-Lan Recreation Centre.

Notable people

* Sir John Johnson, one of the original landowners and developers of the area. Constructed The Manor House in Williamstown, now a Canadian National Historic Site. *

James Leroy James Leroy (April 3, 1947 – May 10, 1979)Paul Weber. Retrieved 2013-02-16. was a Canadian singer, songwriter, recording artist and performer. Early life James Leroy was born in Ottawa, Ontario and spent his childhood and adolescence in Mart ...

(1947-1979), nationally recognized songwriter, performer and recording artist; spent his childhood and adolescence in Martintown. * Alexander Macdonell, later Bishop of Regiolopolis (now

, Ontario). * Ran McDonald,

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

player, born in Cashion's Glen and played in the

PCHA The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in Western Canada and the Western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was cons ...

reaching the height of his career in the

1919 Stanley Cup Finals The 1919 Stanley Cup Finals was the ice hockey playoff series to determine the 1919 Stanley Cup champions. The series was cancelled due to an outbreak of Spanish flu after five games had been played, and no champion was declared. It was the only ...

. *

, from Martintown; first person born in

to serve in the Legislative Assembly. * David Thompson, resident of Williamstown; Canadian explorer. *

John Sandfield Macdonald John Sandfield Macdonald, (December 12, 1812 – June 1, 1872) was the joint premier of the Province of Canada from 1862 to 1864. He was also the first premier of Ontario from 1867 to 1871, one of the four founding provinces created at Can ...

; born in St. Raphael West, Glengarry County, Ontario which was then Upper Canada Wikipedia(joint premier of the Province of Canada and the first premier of Ontario).

References

External links

* {{Geographic location , Centre = South Glengarry , North =

North Glengarry North Glengarry is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. It is a predominantly rural area located between Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal and Cornwall. Communities The township of North Glenga ...

, Northeast = , East = {{nowrap, {{flagicon, QC Ste-Justine-de-Newton
{{nowrap, {{flagicon, QC St-Télesphore
{{nowrap, {{flagicon, QC

Rivière-Beaudette Rivière-Beaudette () is a municipality of Quebec, Canada, located in the southwest corner of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality on the border with Ontario along the St. Lawrence River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian ce ...

, Southeast = , South = '' Lake Saint Francis''
{{flagicon, QC

Akwesasne The Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne ( ; ; ) is a Mohawk Nation (''Kanienʼkehá:ka'') territory that straddles the intersection of international (United States and Canada) borders and provincial (Ontario and Quebec) boundaries on both banks of the St ...

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, Saint-Anicet , Southwest = ''

St. 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. Lawren ...

Akwesasne 59 Iroquois of St Regis Indian Reserve 59 (Kawehnò:ke) is an Indian reserve in Ontario. It is part of The St Regis Indian reserve, which includes St Regis, Quebec (Indian Reserve)in Quebec and St. Regis Reservation, in New York. The Iroquois of St ...

, West = South Stormont

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, ...

, Northwest =

North Stormont North Stormont is a lower tier township in eastern Ontario, Canada in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. Communities The township of North Stormont comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communit ...

Township municipalities in Ontario Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Ontario populated places on the Saint Lawrence River