Township Of Verulam, Ontario
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The Township of Verulam was a rural
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
within the former Victoria County, now the city of
Kawartha Lakes Kawartha Lakes (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 79,247) is a List of municipalities in Ontario , single-tier municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Though structured as a single-tier municipality, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typica ...
. It was bounded on the north by the geographic township of Somerville, the south by the geographic township of Emily, the west by the geographic township of Fenelon, and the east by the County of Peterborough. For the purposes of government, land surveying and reference, it is now properly referred to as the "Geographic Township of Verulam". The township was ten concessions (each wide) and thirty-two lots deep, and was surveyed on the Lake Ontario frontage system. Sturgeon Lake completely bisected the township from west to east. Errors in surveying across the lake resulted in jogs in many of lot lines north of the lake in Concessions IV through X, and was the cause of the irregular northern boundary. The township also included parts of Concession XIX of the Geographic Township of Harvey which were isolated from the rest of that township by Pigeon Lake in the east. The Township of Verulam was part of
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 ...
until 1850, when Victoria County was formed. It is now part of the City of
Kawartha Lakes Kawartha Lakes (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 79,247) is a List of municipalities in Ontario , single-tier municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Though structured as a single-tier municipality, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typica ...
.


Communities

*
Bobcaygeon Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent–Severn Waterway in the Kawartha Lakes, City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada. Bobcaygeon was incorporated as a village in 1876, and became known as the "Hub of the Kawarthas". Its reco ...
, former township seat *Ancona Point *Dunsford *Greenhurst-Thurstonia *Kenstone Beach *Red Rock *Sturgeon Point


History

In 1818, six chiefs of the Mississauga First Nations met at Port Hope to sign a treaty to convey to the
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all the land which is now
City of Kawartha Lakes Kawartha Lakes (2021 population: 79,247) is a single-tier municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Though structured as a single-tier municipality, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontario county and is mostly rural. It is the second l ...
and
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 ...
for the sum of about £740. Verulam Township was named for the Earl of Verulam, James Walter Grimston (1775 - 1845) who was the brother-in-law of
Lord Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. Before becoming Prime Minister he had been Foreign Secretary, ...
,
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from 1812 to 1827. The township was surveyed in 1831 by the government 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 ...
and lots were first offered for sale in 1832, for 8 shillings per acre.


Agriculture

Lumbering was the first important industry to be developed, as the township had abundant stands of white pine up until about 1904, when loggers moved northward into Haliburton and what is now
Algonquin Park Algonquin Provincial Park is an Ontario provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Canada. Addit ...
. Agriculture in various forms was also pursued with the land south of the lake most suitable for crops. Dairying is still an important industry:
Kawartha Dairy Company Kawartha Dairy Company is a Canadian family owned and operated dairy based in Bobcaygeon, Ontario in the City of Kawartha Lakes. The company was founded in 1937 and it remains family owned. Kawartha Dairy produces a line of milk and cream products ...
, the last large remaining dairy in the area serving south central Ontario, is in operation at Bobcaygeon. The Verulam Agricultural Society founded in 1858, now the Bobcaygeon Agricultural Society, still meets and holds an annual Fall
Fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
at its Fairgrounds located on the main island of Bobcaygeon.


Settlement

Settlement first occurred at
Bobcaygeon Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent–Severn Waterway in the Kawartha Lakes, City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada. Bobcaygeon was incorporated as a village in 1876, and became known as the "Hub of the Kawarthas". Its reco ...
, at the eastern end of the township with the 1832 arrival of Thomas Need from
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Thomas Need built a lumber and grist mill, laid out a village plot, founded a
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, and supervised the building of the first lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway. Several other notable settlements arose over the years, including the hamlet of Dunsford, the
police village A police village was a form of municipal government that was used in the province of Ontario, Canada in the early 19th century if the finances or the population of an area did not permit the creation of a village. Formation In the early 19th centu ...
of Greenhurst-Thurstonia, and the police village of Sturgeon Point.


Transportation

The lakes were important to early transportation, though lumber interests mostly controlled use of the waterway until the system was completed in 1920. The Trent-Severn Waterway was originally intended as a defensive and commercial route from the upper
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through to
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, however delays to its completion through the railway- and highway-building eras have relegated the canal to purely pleasure-craft use. Today, the Trent-Severn Waterway is a
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under the jurisdiction of
Parks Canada Parks Canada ()Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 37 National Parks, three National Marine Co ...
. Water and corduroy roads were the entrance to Verulam Township until in 1879, the
Victoria Railway The Victoria Railway was a long Canadian railway that operated in Central Ontario. Construction under Chief Engineer James Ross began in 1874 from Lindsay, Ontario, with authority to build through Victoria County to Haliburton, Ontario, to ...
(later the
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...
) was constructed between Lindsay and Haliburton, via Fell's Station in the northwest. In 1904, 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 ...
was completed to Bobcaygeon from Lindsay and Burketon Jct. Improvements to the highway system continued until the need for railways became redundant. The line to Bobcaygeon was abandoned in 1957. The railway through Fell's Station was abandoned in 1987 following the burning of the McLaren Creek bridge near Lindsay.


Verulam Township today

Although there have been various lumbering, manufacturing, farming and mining operations within the township, today the primary industry is tourism. Settlement consists mostly of small farms, with concentrations of cottages along the shores of Sturgeon Lake. Many marinas are located on Sturgeon Lake, and a system of well-developed parks are available for day use.


See also

*
List of townships in Ontario This is a list of township (Canada), townships in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Townships are listed by List of census divisions of Ontario, census division. Northern Ontario Northeastern Ontario Algoma D ...


Bibliography

*1. W.H. Smith, "Canadian Gazetteer" Toronto, Canada: 1846. *2. Dr. W.D. Thomas, "Bobcaygeon: Hub of the Kawarthas" Bobcaygeon, Ontario: 1980 *3.
Watson Kirkconnell Watson Kirkconnell, (16 May 1895 – 26 February 1977) was a Canadian literary scholar, poet, playwright, linguist, satirist, and translator. Kirkconnell was born in Port Hope, Ontario into a proudly Scottish-Canadian family descended from Uni ...
, "County of Victoria Centennial History" Lindsay, Ontario: 1967 *4. Corporation of the Village of Bobcaygeon, "Council Minutes" Bobcaygeon, Ontario: 1921 - 1958. {{authority control Verulam Former township municipalities in Ontario 1831 establishments in Canada