Tay Valley 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

Tay River The Tay River is a river in Lanark County in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Shows the course of the river on a topographic map. It is in the Saint Lawrence River drainage basin and is a left tributary of the Rideau River. The Tay River watershed, cov ...

in the southwest corner of

Lanark County Lanark County is a county and Census divisions of Canada, census division located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is Perth, Ontario, Perth, which was first settled in 1816Brown, Howard Morton, 1984. Lanark Legacy, Nineteenth ...

, adjacent to the

United Counties of Leeds and Grenville The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, commonly known as Leeds and Grenville, is a county and census division in Ontario, Canada, in the Eastern Ontario subregion of Southern Ontario. It fronts on the St. Lawrence River and the internation ...

and

Frontenac County Frontenac County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. The city of Kingston is in the Frontenac census division, but is separated from the County of Front ...

. The township administrative offices are located in Glen Tay.

History

At the time of European settlement in North America, the area of the township was under the control of the Omàmiwininì, an

Algonquin people The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada and parts of the United States. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely ...

. The constituent townships (Bathurst, North Burgess, and South Sherbrooke) were surveyed and settled in the immediate aftermath of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, with land grants provided to Canadian veterans of the war as well as Scottish and Irish immigrants. Bathurst Township was named after

Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst (22 May 1762 – 27 July 1834), was a High Tory, High church, High Church Tories (British political party), Pittite. He was an MP for thirty years before ennoblement. A personal friend of William Pitt the Young ...

, North Burgess after Thomas Burgess, and South Sherbrooke was named after

John Coape Sherbrooke General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, (29 April 1764 – 14 February 1830) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean (including Sicily), and Spa ...

. The

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

's original mainline ( CP Havelock Subdivision) passed through Glen Tay heading west to Havelock then on to Toronto before being abandoned to

Tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

in 1973 and to Havelock in 1987. A newer mainline was branched off west of Glen Tay southwest towards Belleville which still handles the CP Rail traffic from Smith Falls to Toronto. The township was incorporated on January 1, 1998, when the townships of Bathurst, South Sherbrooke, and North Burgess were amalgamated. It was originally known as the Township of Bathurst Burgess Sherbrooke, but adopted the name of Tay Valley on July 30, 2002.

Communities

The township comprises the communities of: * Althorpe * Bathurst Station * Bells Corners * Bolingbroke * Bolingbroke Siding * Brooke *

Christie Lake Christie Lake is approximately southwest of Perth, Ontario Perth is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Tay River (Ontario), Tay River, southwest of Ottawa, and is the seat of Lanark County. History The town was establi ...

* DeWitts Corners * Elliot * Fallbrook * Feldspar * Glen Tay * Harper * Maberly * Playfairville * Pratt Corners * Scotch Line * Stanleyville * Wemyss The permanent population was 5,925 in the 2021 census. However, similar to adjacent townships, there are also numerous seasonal residents, predominantly cottagers from Ottawa or Kingston. The total population including seasonal residents was estimated over 10,000, in 3,843 households in 2012.

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 ...

, Tay Valley 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: 93.7% * French as first language: 2.7% * English and French as first language: 0.6% * Other as first language: 2.8%

Transportation

The main roads in the township are Highway 7 and Lanark County Road 10. The

Rideau Trail The Rideau Trail is a hiking trail in Ontario, Canada, linking Ottawa and Kingston.Trischuk, Ernie, and Linda Hayes, ''The Rideau Trail Guidebook'', (Rideau Trail Association, Kingston, 7th ed., 2006) Crossing both public and private lands, the ...

passes through the township, including Murphys Point Provincial Park.

References

External links