Hastings County

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The northern portion of Hastings County is characterized by the rugged landscape of the Madawaska Highlands.

Hastings County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. Geographically, it is located on the border of Eastern Ontario and Central Ontario. Hastings County is the second-largest county in Ontario, after Renfrew County. Its county seat is Belleville, which is, along with Quinte West, independent of Hastings County.

Hastings County has trademarked the moniker "Cheese Capital of Canada".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Administrative divisions

The 14 local municipalities within Hastings County are:

The Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory is within the Hastings census division but is independent of the county. The cities of Belleville and Quinte West are separated municipalities and so are within the geographical boundaries of the county and included in the Hastings census division, but they not under the administration of the county government.

History

Hastings County (named for Francis Rawdon-Hastings) was first organized for electoral purposes in 1792, with its boundaries described as being:

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For the initial elections to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada, it was united with Northumberland County and most of Lennox County for purposes of returning one member.<ref>Proclamation of July 16, 1792</ref>

It was situated within the Mecklenburg District, which was later renamed the "Midland District" in 1792.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref>

In 1798, the Parliament of Upper Canada passed legislation to provide, that, at the beginning of 1800:

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The territory withdrawn from the County continued to form part of the Midland District.<ref>1798 Act, s. 18</ref>

19th century

In 1821, the newly surveyed townships of Elzevir, Madoc and Marmora were added to the county.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> While in this time agriculture was the most important industry in Hastings County, by 1822 (when the Marmora Iron Works was approaching its peak production) mining was playing an increasingly more important role in the area's economy.

Prominent citizens of Hastings County and Ameliasburgh Township unsuccessfully petitioned the provincial government for district status during 1817, 1818, 1823 and 1825. After Prince Edward County successfully achieved its own government in 1831, Hastings County continued to send petitions throughout the 30s before finally achieving the status of a separate district in March 1837.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref>

It was constituted as the District of Victoria in 1839 (which continued until its dissolution in 1850).<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> By 1845, the county was declared to consist of the following geographic townships:<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref>

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  • Elzevir
  • Grimsthorpe
  • Hungerford
  • Huntingdon
  • Lake
  • Marmora
  • Madoc
  • Rawdon
  • Sydney
  • Tudor
  • Thurlow
  • Tyendinaga

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Belleville, after an abortive attempt two years previously, was organized as a municipality with its own Board of Police in 1836,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> and was designated as the district seat in 1837.<ref>1837 Act, s. 1</ref> It was constituted as a town under the Baldwin Act in 1850,<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> and later became a city in 1877.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref>

Edward Fidlar became the first warden of Hastings County with their first meeting on January 28, 1850. By this time the Hastings County Council was also interested in education and the building of the railroad.

On October 27, 1856, the first railroad train arrived in Belleville and by 1864 around 100 people were employed by the railroad.

In August 1866, discovery of gold at Eldorado, near Madoc, caused great excitement throughout Hastings County as people flooded to the area from all over North America. According to Barnes, "gold has been found in twenty-seven locations spread over nine townships."<ref name="Barnes1">Template:Cite book</ref> The railroads and Template:Convert of good gravel roads opened these areas to settlement by 1880.

In 1889 the Belleville Waterworks was created as a private company, which was then bought by the city of Belleville in 1889.

20th century

In 1911, Hastings County was the first in the province to appoint a reforestation committee, which was instrumental in passing laws around county forests. Postal service began in the area in 1913.<ref>Historic Hastings by Gerald E. Boyce</ref>

By 1927 the original townships had each formed separate governance and many of them had been partitioned due to increase in population and development. The 1927 townships were:<ref>[1] An excerpt from The Province of Ontario: A History, 1615–1927, by Middleton, J.E. & Langdon, F., 1927, Dominion Publishing Co., Toronto, made into a geo-code map copyright 2015 by Lisa Rance. Accessed 2 June 2020.</ref> Template:Div col

  • Bangor
  • Carlow
  • Cashel
  • Dungannon
  • Elzevir
  • Faraday
  • Grimsthorpe
  • Herschel
  • Hungerford
  • Huntingdon
  • Lake
  • Limerick
  • Madoc
  • Marmora
  • Mayo
  • McClure
  • Monteagle
  • Rawdon
  • Sidney
  • Thurlow
  • Tudor
  • Tyendinaga
  • Wicklow
  • Wollaston

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Following World War II, more efficient communication and transportation led a trend toward consolidation of township administrations:

  • The Township of Carlow/Mayo was formed by amalgamation of the contiguous townships of Carlow and Mayo.
  • The Township of Wicklow and McClure was formed by amalgamation of the contiguous townships of McClure and Wicklow.
  • Lake Township and Marmora Township were administered as the Township of Marmora & Lake.
  • Elzevir Township and Grimsthorpe Township were administered as the Township of Elzevir & Grimsthorpe since before 1968.
  • The Township of Tudor and Cashel was formed by amalgamation of the geographically non-contiguous townships of Cashel and Tudor.

21st century

At the dawn of the 21st century, there has been a trend toward amalgamating rural and urban administrations. On 1 January 1998:

  • The City of Quinte West was formed through amalgamation of the City of Trenton and the Township of Sidney from Hastings County, with the Village of Frankford and the Township of Murray from Northumberland County.<ref>2 Old Guys Walking: The Mills on Cold Creek, Frankford. Retrieved 6 March 2021.</ref>
  • The Municipality of Centre Hastings was incorporated by amalgamating Huntingdon Township with the Village of Madoc.
  • The Township of Stirling-Rawdon was formed through the amalgamation of Rawdon Township with the Village of Stirling.

In 1998, the Village of Tweed was amalgamated with its Township of Hungerford and the contiguous Township of Elzevir & Grimsthorpe to form the Municipality of Tweed. In 1999, the Village of Bancroft merged with Dungannon Township to form the Town of Bancroft.

On 1 January 2001, the Municipality of Hastings Highlands was incorporated by amalgamating the contiguous townships of Bangor, Wicklow & McClure, Herschel and Monteagle. Also in 2001, the Village of Marmora amalgamated with the surrounding townships of Marmora and Lake to form the Municipality of Marmora and Lake.

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Hastings County had a population of Template:Val living in Template:Val of its Template:Val total private dwellings, a change of Template:Percentage from its 2016 population of Template:Val. With a land area of Template:Convert, it had a population density of Template:Pop density in 2021.<ref name="sc2021"/> Template:Canada census

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County council

Hastings County offices in downtown Belleville.

Following are members of Hastings County Council as of August, 2019:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

  • Warden: Rick Phillips
  • Town of Bancroft: Paul Jenkins
  • Township of Carlow/Mayo: Bonnie Adams
  • Municipality of Centre Hastings: Tom Deline
  • Town of Deseronto: Dan Johnston
  • Township of Faraday: Dennis Purcell
  • Hastings Highlands: Tracy Hagar
  • Township of Limerick: Carl Stefanski
  • Township of Madoc: Loyde Blackburn
  • Municipality of Marmora & Lake: Jan O'Neill
  • Township of Stirling/Rawdon: Bob Mullin
  • Township of Tudor & Cashel: Libby Clarke
  • Municipality of Tweed: Jo-Anne Albert
  • Township of Tyendinaga: Rick Phillips
  • Township of Wollaston: Lynn Kruger

Transportation

The county is served by Highway 401 in the south, Highway 7, a leg of the Trans-Canada Highway, in the central region, Highways 62 and 37 travelling north to south, Highway 28 travelling east to west in the northern region, and Highway 127 travelling north from Maynooth, also in the northern region.

Emergency services

There are 5 EMS stations in Hastings County with Hastings-Quinte EMS HQ located in Belleville, Ontario.

Education

Template:Further Currently, Hastings & Prince Edward District School Board operates public schools. Previously, Hastings County Board of Education operated public schools.

See also

References

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Further reading

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