Halton County
Template:Short description Halton County is a former county in the Canadian province of Ontario, with an area of Template:Convert. It is also one of the oldest counties in Canada.
History
Halton County is named after Major William Mathew Halton (1746–1823), a British Army officer, who was appointed in England in 1805 as Secretary to Upper Canada Lieutenant-Governor Sir Francis Gore and spent little time in Canada during his posting<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (served two terms, 1806–1811 and 1815–1816).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Settlers started to arrive in the area in the early 1780s. The south was first settled by United Empire Loyalists, and the north was settled mainly by immigrants from the British Isles. In 1788, the area became part of the Nassau District,<ref>Proclamation, July 24, 1788</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which was renamed the Home District in 1792.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Historic townships
- Esquesing Township (area Template:Convert). Opened in 1819, the first town meeting was held in 1821 when the population was 424. The name Esquesing was said to come from an Indigenous word meaning "the land of the tall pine(s)", but is more likely to come from the Mississauga word ishkwessin, meaning "that which lies at the end",<ref name = "lang">FREELANG Ojibwe-English and English-Ojibwe online dictionary</ref> which was the original name for Bronte Creek.<ref name="sketch">Template:Cite web</ref> Community centres were Georgetown, Acton, Glen Williams, Stewarttown, Norval, Limehouse.
- Nassagaweya Township (area Template:Convert). Opened in 1819, its name was derived from the Mississauga word niizhozaagiwan, meaning "having two outlets",<ref name = "lang" /> which was the original name of the Sixteen Mile Creek.<ref name = "sketch" /> Community centres were Campbellville, Darbyville and Eden Mills.
- Nelson Township (area Template:Convert) Opened in 1806 and named in honour of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson. Community centre: Burlington.
- Trafalgar Township (area Template:Convert), opened in 1806, the year after the Battle of Trafalgar. The township was settled in 1807. Community centres were Milton, Oakville, Bronte.
First Nations land surrenders
The lands that eventually formed part of Halton were acquired from the Mississauga Indians as follows:
| Treaty | Date | Area | NelsonTemplate:Sfn | TrafalgarTemplate:Sfn | NassagaweyaTemplate:Sfn | EsquesingTemplate:Sfn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3¾ | 24 October 1795 | Template:Convert | Template:Aye | |||
| 8 | 21 August 1797 | Template:Convert | Template:Aye | |||
| 13a | 2 August 1805 | Part of township | Template:Aye | Template:Aye | ||
| 14 | 6 September 1806 | Part of township | Template:Aye | Template:Aye | ||
| 19 | 21 October 1818 | Part of township | Template:Aye | Template:Aye | ||
| 19 | 28 October 1818 | Part of Trafalgar; All of Nassagaweya and Esquesing | Template:Aye | Template:Aye | Template:Aye |
Municipal organization and evolution
Along with Wentworth County, Halton County was created in 1816 as part of the Gore District,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> In 1821, the county was expanded through the addition of the townships of Esquesing, Erin, Nassagaweya, Eramosa, and Garafraxa, together with certain church land.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref>
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 it,<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> to be known as Waterloo County.<ref>1837 Act, s. 28</ref>
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:<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref>
- 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.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the union of counties was abolished in 1854.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref>
As settlement progressed, several urban areas developed and were organized into separate villages and towns:
- Acton: incorporated as a village in 1874,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and erected into a town in 1950.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Bronte: incorporated as a village in 1952.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Burlington: incorporated as a village in 1872, and erected into a town in 1915.<ref>as acknowledged in the Preamble to Template:Cite canlaw</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Georgetown: incorporated as a village in 1864, and erected into a town in 1921.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Milton: incorporated as a town in 1857.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref>
- Oakville: incorporated as a town in 1857.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref>
In 1861, the County population was about 22,794.Template:Sfn
In 1958, Burlington amalgamated with the township of Nelson and annexed part of the township of East Flamborough.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Oakville did the same in 1962, through amalgamation with Bronte and the township of Trafalgar.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref>
In 1974, Halton County was replaced by the Regional Municipality of Halton.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
Further reading
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