Prince Edward County, Ontario
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Prince Edward County is a single-tier municipality and a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario.
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[edit] Geography and demographics
Prince Edward County 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 (officially named Prince Edward County in 1792[1]) 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.
According to the 2006 Census, Prince Edward has a population of 25,496 over an area of 1050.14 square kilometers.
The county's relatively mild climate due to the influence of Lake Ontario, has led to the establishment of about 50 vineyards and close to a dozen wineries. The influence of Lake Ontario, also results in heavier snowfall than surrounding counties.
[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.
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.
In 1998, all of the former municipalities in Prince Edward County amalgamated to form a single-tier municipality as part of province wide municipal restructuring.
[edit] Government
Despite the official name of the municipality, Prince Edward is not a county by the standard Ontario definition, as a single level of government handles all municipal services. The county seat is located in Picton.
[edit] Landscape
Prince Edward County is a very rural area but full of natural resources which its residents enjoy. The landscape is very rural with little to no development, although since it is a very popular tourist destination much work is going into developing the retail and seasonal sections of the economy. Since it is an island it is surrounded by fresh water, meaning beaches, boating, swimming, and other water sports abound. This island also has several lakes in it - Roblin Lake, Consecon Lake, Fish Lake, Lake-on-the-Mountain, East Lake and West Lake. By West Lake is the Sandbanks Provincial Park, which has a very spacious long, sandy beach as well as enormous sand dunes. Many places are swampy and there are some hills but mostly the land is flat. The soil is sandy and there are many trees and forests around.
[edit] Activities
Prince Edward County, which attracts many tourists in the summer, is known for Sandbanks Provincial Park and North Beach Provincial Park, the Black Creek Cheese Factory, and Bergeron's Animal Sanctuary. There is also a committee that has been together since 2000 working on building a million-dollar concrete skate park and playground facility in this small area. They hope this project will boost morale in the area as well as be something beneficial to the youth and local residents. No. 851 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets makes their home at Macauly Mountain Conservation Area to the south of Picton.
[edit] Former municipalities
- Ameliasburgh, named after Princess Amelia, youngest daughter of George III
- Athol
- Bloomfield
- 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 Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh, one of George III's daughters.
- Sophiasburgh, named for Princess Sophia, one of George III's daughters. Surveyed in 1785 and 1787, settled by Loyalists from Nova Scotia and the Mainland.
- South Marysburgh, also named for Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh, one of George III's daughters.
- Picton
- Wellington
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
- Official municipal government site
- Tourism site
- Map of Wineries of Prince Edward County
- Listing of Teen Events
- County of Prince Edward Public Library
- The County Youthpark organization
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