Prince Edward County, Ontario
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The Corporation of the County of Prince Edward is a single-tier municipality and a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. Despite its official name, it is not a county by the standard definition, as a single level of government handles all municipal services. The county seat is Picton. Its population is 22,748 and area, 1048.3 square kilometers.
It is located on a large irregular headland or littoral at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, just west of the head of the St. Lawrence River. This headland (always known as Prince Edward County) is surrounded on the north and east by the Bay of Quinte; as the Murray Canal now connects the bay to Lake Ontario across the only land connection, the county could technically be considered an island.
For many years Prince Edward County has been closely associated with the wholly mainland Hastings County. Its longtime militia unit has been The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (locally known as the Hasty Ps), whose most famous member was Farley Mowat. This noted nature author wrote And No Birds Sang about his experiences with the Hasty Ps during the Second World War's Italian Campaign.
The county's relatively mild climate has led to the establishment of about 50 vineyards and nine wineries.
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[edit] History
The county was created by Upper Canada's founding lieutenant-governor John Graves Simcoe July 16, 1792 and named after Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (the fourth son of King George III) who was commander-in-chief of British North America.
Some of the earliest United Empire Loyalist settlements in Ontario were set up here shortly after the American Revolution. The county was originally composed of three townships named in honor of three of George III's daughters.
[edit] Communities
Former townships:
- Ameliasburgh, named after Princes Amelia, youngest daughter of George III
- Athol
- Hallowell, named after Benjamin Hallowell, eminent Loyalist, formally of Boston. He was the father-in-law of Chief Justice John Elmsley.
- Hillier, organized in 1823, and named after Major George Hillier, military secretary to Sir Peregrine Maitland.
- North Marysburgh, surveyed in 1785 and settled by Loyalist veterans, some of Hessian birth. Named for one of George III's daughters
- Sophiasburgh, named for one of George III's daughters. Surveyed in 1785 and 1787, settled by Loyalist from Nova Scotia and the Mainland.
- South Marysburgh
Source: Province of Ontario -- A History 1615 to 1927 by Jesse Edgar Middletwon & Fred Landon, copyright 1927, Dominion Publishing Company, Toronto
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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