Grey Highlands, Ontario

Grey Highlands
Municipality (lower-tier)
Municipality of Grey Highlands
Grey Highlands
Coordinates: 44°20′N 80°30′W / 44.333°N 80.500°WCoordinates: 44°20′N 80°30′W / 44.333°N 80.500°W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Grey
Formed	January 1, 2001
Government
• Mayor	Paul McQueen
• Federal riding	Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound
• Prov. riding	Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound
Area[1]
• Land	882.44 km^2 (340.71 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	9,520
• Density	10.8/km^2 (28/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Postal Code	N0C 1H0
Area code(s)	519 and 226
Website	www.greyhighlands.ca

Eugenia Falls

Grey Highlands is a municipality in the southeast corner of Grey County, Ontario, Canada that was formed on January 1, 2001, by the amalgamation of the village of Markdale and the townships of Artemesia, Euphrasia and Osprey, which included the unincorporated hamlets of Eugenia Ceylon, Maxwell, Singhampton, Priceville, Kimberley, and Feversham. The former village of Flesherton is also located within the municipality; it was amalgamated with Artemesia Township in 1998.

According to the 2011 Census, the municipality covers a land area of 882 square kilometres and has a population of 9,520.

Communities

• Eugenia
• Feversham
• Flesherton
• Kimberley
• Markdale
• Vandeleur

Geography

The dominant natural feature of the area is the Niagara Escarpment, which passes through the municipality and has several ancillary features:

• the Bruce Trail, a popular hiking and multi-use trail, follows the brow of the Niagara Escarpment.
• Beaver Valley, a steep-sided and broad valley, was created during the last ice age. The eastern side of the valley, as part of the Niagara Escarpment, was designated a UNESCO Biosphere reserve in 1990.^[2] The west side of the valley is home to a number of downhill ski slopes, including Beaver Valley Ski Club.
• Eugenia Falls, where the Beaver River crosses the Niagara Escarpment, is the location of Grey County's only gold rush.^[3]

Demographics

Population trend:^[4]

• Population in 2011: 9520 (2006 to 2011 population change: 0.4%)
• Population in 2006: 9480 (2001 to 2006 population change: 3.1%)
• Population in 2001: 9196
• Population total in 1996: 8620
  • Artemesia (township): 2881
  • Euphrasia (township): 1513
  • Flesherton (village): 625
  • Markdale (village): 1354
  • Osprey (township): 2247
• Population total in 1991: 7828
  • Artemesia (township): 2538
  • Euphrasia (township): 1427
  • Flesherton (village): 543
  • Markdale (village): 1370
  • Osprey (township): 1950

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 3752 (total dwellings: 5297)

Education

Elementary students (Kindergarten to grade 8) are divided into three catchment areas:

• MacPhail Memorial Elementary School serves the Flesherton area.
• Osprey Central School serves the Maxwell and Feversham area.
• Beavercrest Community School serves the Markdale and surrounding area.

All of these students go to Grey Highlands Secondary School in Flesherton for Grades 9-12.

See also

• List of townships in Ontario

References

1. "Grey Highlands census profile". 2011 Census of Population. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
2. "List of Biosphere Reserves 2009" (PDF). UNESCO. 2009. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
3. "In 1852, when the country was very new and wild, somebody thought he had discovered gold in the rocks below the falls... One adventurous waggonmaker, from the County of York, happening to be in the region, made a rush with the rest to the diggings, and soon departed homeward, several days journey through woods and bushroads, with a backbreaking load in a bag... He got home, and before he slept kindled up his forge fire to melt down a little of the precious stuff.... The sulphurious fumes and horrible stench of the vile stuff choked him, and well nigh drove him out of the premises. He had carried home a backload of worthless iron pyrites!"Smith, William Wye (1866). Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Grey for 1865-66. Toronto: Global Steam Press.
4. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census

Resources

• Split Rail Country: A History of Artemesia Volume I now online
• Split Rail Country: A History of Artemesia Volume II 1985-2000 is being written