Brock, Ontario

Township of Brock
—  Township  —
Beaverton

Coat of arms
Township of Brock's location within Durham Region.
Coordinates:
Country  Canada
Province  Ontario
Region Durham
Incorporated 1974
Government
 • Mayor Terry Clayton
Area
 • Total 423.73 km2 (163.6 sq mi)
Population (2006)
 • Total 11,979
 • Density 28.3/km2 (73.2/sq mi)
Website www.townshipofbrock.ca

Brock is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. Brock Township is also a former municipality and geographic township prior to the amalgamation that formed the current municipality.

Contents

History

The original Brock Township was surveyed in 1817 as part of York County and the first meetings were held in 1833. The township was originally named for Major General Sir Isaac Brock (1769–1812) whose estate received free land here for his service in the War of 1812. William Bagshaw became Brock's first Postmaster and Justice of the Peace in 1819 when he owned property on Lot 5 Concession 9. Other early, settler ancestors included names like: Acton, Charters, Dusto, Purvis, Rundle, Bagshaw, Doble, Phair, St. John, Umphrey, Brethour, Doyle, Fallowdown, Ruddy and Vrooman (for whom the semi-ghost town of Vroomanton was named).

In 1852, the Township became part of the newly-created Ontario County. In 1878, Cannington was incorporated as a village and was no longer part of the Township for municipal purposes.

In 1974, as part of the municipal restructuring around the creation of the Regional Municipality of Durham, Brock was amalgamated with Thorah Township and the villages of Beaverton and Cannington to form the new Township of Brock.

Communities

Beaverton is the largest community and commercial centre of the township, while Cannington is home to the municipal administration and local high school.

Smaller communities in the township include Ball Subdivision, Blackwater, Cedar Beach, Creightons Corners, Derryville, Gamebridge, Layton, Maple Beach, Pinedale, Saginaw, Sunderland, Thorah Beach, Vallentyne, Vroomanton, Wick and Wilfrid.

The Trent-Severn Waterway forms part of the northern border of the municipality, which enters Lake Simcoe through Ramara Township. There are five locks in Brock.

Municipal politics

The township's current mayor is Terry Clayton, who also previously served as mayor from 2000 to 2003.

The township faced controversy following the 2010 municipal election, in which then-incumbent mayor Larry O'Connor was reelected by a margin of just 13 votes over Clayton. The narrow margin resulted in an ongoing judicial recount battle, and O'Connor resigned as mayor on March 28, 2011.[1] The municipal council subsequently appointed Clayton as mayor.[2]

Demographics

According to the 2006 Statistics Canada Census, the municipality has a population of 11,979 over an area of 423.31 km². This represents a slight (1.1%) drop from the 2001 census, when the township had a population of 12,110.

Notable residents

References

  1. ^ "Mayor Larry O'Connor resigns". mykawartha.com, March 29, 2011.
  2. ^ "Clayton appointed mayor". mykawartha.com, May 2, 2011.

External links