Halton County, Ontario

Halton County (area 228,181 acres (923 km²)) is a former county in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is also one of the oldest counties in Canada.

History

Halton County is named after Major William Mathew Halton, a British Army officer who was appointed in 1805 as Secretary to the Upper Canada provincial Lieutenant-Governor Sir Francis Gore in England and spent little time in Canada during his posting^[1] (served two terms 1806-1811 and 1815-1816).^[2]

Settlers started to arrive in the area in the early 1780s. The south part was first settled by United Empire Loyalists, the northern part was settled mainly by immigrants from the British Isles. In 1788, the area became part of the Nassau District,^[3][4] which was renamed the Home District in 1792.^[5][6]

Thomas Ridout survey of 1821. The northern section shows Blocks 1–4, together with Crown reserves and Clergy reserves, and certain townships to the east, that became part of Halton.

Along with Wentworth County, Halton County was created in 1816 as part of the Gore District,^[7] consisting of the townships of Trafalgar, Nelson, Flamborough, and Beverley, together with certain blocks of land on the Grand River and reserved lands to the rear of the townships of Blenheim and Blandford.^[8] In 1821, the county was expanded through the addition of the townships of Esquesing, Erin, Nassagaweya, Eramosa, and Garafraxa, together with certain church land.^[9]

In 1838, on the creation of Wellington District, the townships of Garafraxa, Nichol, Woolwich, Guelph, Waterloo, Wilmot, Dumfries, Puslinch, Erin and Eramosa were withdrawn from Halton and transferred to Waterloo County.^[10]

Upon the passage of the Act of Union 1840, for electoral purposes Halton became two ridings for electing members to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada:^[11]

• East Riding: the townships of Trafalgar, Nelson, Esquesing, Nassagaweya, East Flamborough, West Flamborough, Erin and Beverley.
• West Riding: the townships of Garafraxa, Nichol, Woolwich, Guelph, Waterloo, Wilmot, Dumfries, Puslinch and Eramosa.

When the East and West Ridings were renamed for their respective counties in 1845, the township of Erin continued to be part of Halton for electoral purposes.^[12]

When the Gore District was abolished in 1850, the township of Erin was fully withdrawn and Halton County was united with Wentworth County to form the United Counties of Wentworth and Halton.^[13] As a result of a territorial reorganization in 1851, Halton County was reduced in size, with only the townships of Esquesing, Trafalgar, Nassageweya and Nelson remaining,^[14][15] and the union of counties was abolished in 1854.^[16]

As settlement progressed, several urban areas developed and were organized into separate villages and towns:

• Acton: incorporated as a village in 1874,^[17] and erected into a town in 1950.^[18]
• Bronte: incorporated as a village in 1952.^[19]
• Burlington: incorporated as a village in 1872, and erected into a town in 1915.^[20][21]
• Georgetown: incorporated as a village in 1864, and erected into a town in 1921.^[22][23]
• Milton: incorporated as a town in 1857.^[24]
• Oakville: incorporated as a town in 1857.^[25]

In 1958, Burlington amalgamated with the township of Nelson and annexed part of the township of East Flamborough.^[26] Oakville did the same in 1962, through amalgamation with Bronte and the township of Trafalgar.^[27] As a consequence, special legislation was passed to provide that votes of members of the county council were to be allocated according to the populations of the respective municipalities, provided that the combined number of votes for Burlington and Oakville would not be greater than the total votes allocated to the remaining municipalities.^[28]

In 1974, Halton County was replaced by the Regional Municipality of Halton.^[29][30]

Historic townships

• Esquesing Township (area 66,700 acres (104 sq mi; 270 km²)). Opened in 1819, the first town meeting was held in 1821 when the population was 424. The name Esquesing was said to come from a First Nations word meaning "the land of the tall pine(s)", but is more likely to come from the Mississauga Indian word ishkwessin, meaning "that which lies at the end",^[31] which was the original name for Bronte Creek.^[32] Community centres were: Georgetown, Acton, Glen Williams, Stewarttown, Norval, Limehouse.
• Nassagaweya Township (area 44,797 acres (70 sq mi; 181 km²)). Opened in 1819, its name was derived from the Mississauga word niizhozaagiwan, meaning "having two outlets",^[31] which was the original name of the Sixteen Mile Creek.^[32] Community centres were: Campbellville, Darbyville and Eden Mills.
• Nelson Township (area 46,236 acres (72 sq mi; 187 km²)) Opened in 1806 and named in honour of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson. Community centre: Burlington.
• Trafalgar Township (area 67,055 acres (105 sq mi; 271 km²)), opened in 1806, the year of the Battle of Trafalgar. The township was settled in 1807. Community centres were Milton, Oakville, Bronte.

See also

• List of Ontario census divisions
• List of townships in Ontario

References

1. "Scotch Block: Adapting to a New Country". Tackaberry Times. June 2001.
2. "Dividing the Land". Regional Municipality of Halton.
3. Proclamation, July 24, 1788
4. "Province of Quebec, 1788". Archives of Ontario.
5. An act for building a gaol and court house in every district in this province, and for altering the names of the said districts, S.U.C. 22 Geo. III, c. 8, s. 4
6. "Upper Canada, 1792". Archives of Ontario.
7. "Upper Canada, 1826". Archives of Ontario.
8. An Act to erect and form a new district out of certain parts of the Home and Niagara Districts, to be called the district of Gore, S.U.C. 56 Geo. III, c. 19, s. 12
9. An Act to repeal part of an act passed in the thirty-eighth year of his late Majesty's reign, entitled, "An act for the better division of this province," and to make further provision for the division of the same into counties and districts, S.U.C. 2 Geo. IV, c. 3, s. 9
10. S.U.C. 7 Wm. IV, c. 116
11. An Act to re-unite the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the Government of Canada, 3 & 4 Vic., c. 35, s. 13
12. An Act for better defining the limits of the Counties and Districts in Upper Canada, for erecting certain new Townships, for detaching Townships from some Counties and attaching them to others, and for other purposes relative to the division of Upper Canada into Townships, Counties and Districts, S.C. 8 Vic., c. 7, Sch. B
13. An Act for abolishing the Territorial Division of Upper-Canada into Districts, and for providing for temporary Unions of Counties for Judicial and other purposes, and for the future dissolutions of such Unions, as the increase of wealth and population may require, S.C. 12 Vic., c. 78, Sch. C
14. An Act to make certain alterations in the Territorial Divisions of Upper Canada, S.C. 14 & 15 Vic., c. 5, Sch. A
15. "Province of Canada, 1851". Archives of Ontario.
16. An Act to separate the County of Halton from the County of Wentworth, S.C. 1853, c. 218
17. "Acton Historical Plaque". Retrieved 2012-02-26.
18. "The First Council of the Town of Acton - 1950". The Acton Free Press. 1950-01-12. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
19. "Bronte Harbour". Town of Oakville.
20. as acknowledged in the Preamble to An Act respecting the Town of Burlington, S.O. 1916, c. 67
21. "Description of a 1917 town". InsideHalton.com. March 8, 2012.
22. An Act to incorporate the Town of Georgetown, S.O. 1921, c. 104
23. "History of Georgetown". Downtown Georgetown.
24. An Act to incorporate the Town of Milton, in the County of Halton, S.C. 1857, c. 92
25. An Act to incorporate the Town of Oakville, S.C. 1857, c. 93
26. "Council of Twelve for Burlington As Town, Township Unite in 1958". The Canadian Champion. September 19, 1957. p. 1.
27. "Approve Amalgamation Must Vote on New Name". The Canadian Champion. August 10, 1961. p. 1.
28. The County of Halton Act, 1962-63, S.O. 1962-63, c. 166
29. The Regional Municipality of Halton Act, 1973, S.O. 1973, c. 70
30. "Regional Municipality of Halton". Archives of Ontario.
31. FREELANG Ojibwe-English and English-Ojibwe online dictionary
32. "French Sketch Map, c. 1760". Retrieved 2012-02-22.

Further reading

• John McDonald (2003). Halton Sketches Revisited: Historical Tales of People and Events in North Halton. Erin: Boston Mills Press. ISBN 1-55046-375-6.
• Jesse Edgar Middleton; Fred Landon (1927). Province of Ontario: A History 1615 to 1927. Toronto: Dominion Publishing Company. OCLC 62933405.
• Jim Snow (1990). Mr Jim, From Esquesing, the Land of Tall Pines: The Personal Recollections of James W. Snow, Farmer, Contractor, Businessman, Aviator & Politician. Hornby: James W Snow. ISBN 0-9694643-1-2.

External links

• Esquesing Historical Society
• Halton Images
• 1951 map of Halton County

Coordinates: 43°35′N 79°55′W / 43.583°N 79.917°W