Clifford, Ontario

Clifford
Unincorporated community
Clifford Location in southern Ontario
Coordinates: 43°58′09″N 80°58′45″W / 43.96917°N 80.97917°WCoordinates: 43°58′09″N 80°58′45″W / 43.96917°N 80.97917°W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Wellington
Municipality	Minto
Founded (as Minto Village)	1855
Present Name	1856
Incorporated (village)	1873
Amalgamated	1999
Named for	Clifford in West Yorkshire, England
Elevation	375 m (1,230 ft)
Time zone	Eastern Time Zone (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern Time Zone (UTC-4)
Postal codes in Canada	N0G 1M0
Area code(s)	519, 226, 548

Clifford is an unincorporated community in the municipality of Minto in Wellington County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.^[1] It is on Ontario Highway 9 and Coon Creek, a stream in the Saugeen River drainage basin.

The village of Clifford was founded around 1855 as Minto Village.^[2] After the opening of the post office in 1856, the settlement was renamed Clifford by the first postmaster Francis Brown after Clifford in West Yorkshire, England. Clifford was incorporated as a village in 1873. In 1999, Clifford was amalgamated with Palmerston, Harriston and Minto Township to create Minto.

The first telephones in the community were installed in 1890 by Bell Canada.^[2] Wightman Telecom, based in Clifford and owned by the Wightman family, has owned and operated a communication system in Clifford since 1908, with a telephone system that was originally operated out of a kitchen in Howick Township. Wightman bought out Bell's operations in Clifford, Ayton and Neustadt in 1928. The firm continues to operate the system as of March 2016.^[2][3]

On 17 March 2016 a 200-metre (660 ft) wide EF1 tornado touched down near the community.^[4]

People

Famous people from Clifford include John A. Kruspe, a former CFL player. Kruspe was a member of the Ottawa Rough Riders during the 1973 Grey Cup win against the Edmonton Eskimos.

References

1. "Clifford". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
2. Harrison, Clifford M (1978). "Two towns and a village". The Way It Was : A History of Minto Township. Township of Minto. p. 114–120. OCLC 63015327. Retrieved 2016-03-17. Also OCLC 22093320.
3. "Who is Wightman Telecom?". Wightman Telecom. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
4. "Environment Canada confirms tornado touched down near Clifford Ont.". 680 News. 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2016-03-17.

Other map sources:

• Map 4 (PDF) (Map). 1 : 700,000. Official road map of Ontario. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. 2014. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
• Restructured municipalities - Ontario map #6 (Map). Restructuring Maps of Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 2006. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
• "Township of Minto" (JPG). Canadian County Atlas Project. McGill University. 2001. Retrieved 2016-03-17.