Wellington County, Ontario

Wellington County (2006 population 85,524^[2]) is a county located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Guelph, a city which is politically independent, but Guelph's status as the seat means it houses the county's administrative offices. Despite being independent, Guelph is included in the Wellington County census division^[3].

The county, which is made up of two towns and five townships, is predominantly rural in nature. However many of its residents commute to Guelph, Kitchener, Brampton, Mississauga, and even Toronto.

Constituent municipalities

• Centre Wellington, Township of
• Erin, Town of
• Guelph/Eramosa, Township of
• Mapleton, Township of
• Minto, Town of
• Puslinch, Township of
• Wellington North, Township of

History

In 1837 by Act of Parliament the new District of Wellington was formed and a court house and jail in the town of Guelph were authorized. In 1840 the county officials received their commissions. The District Council of the County of Wellington was formed and consisted of eighteen municipalities as follows: the town of Guelph, the villages of Fergus, Elora, Mount Forest and Orangeville, and the following historic townships^[4]:

• Arthur, area 64,494 acres (261 km²). Opened in 1835, it was named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. Community centres: Arthur, Kenilworth and Mount Forest.
• Eramosa, area 44,482 acres (180 km²). Opened in 1821. The name is an attempt to render in English the Indian "un-ne-mo-sa", which means dog. Community centres: Eden Mills, Rockwood, Speedside and Eramosa.
• Erin, area 70,557 acres (286 km²), opened in 1820, Community centres: Erin, Hillsburgh, Mimosa
• West Garafraxa, area 46,950 acres (190 km²), Opened in 1821. Name is believed to be from an Indian word meaning "the place of panthers." Community centres: Fergus (only partially in the township), Reading, Metz and Garafraxa
• Guelph Township, area 35,543 acres (144 km²). Opened on April 23, 1827 by John Galt on behalf of the Canada Company.
• West Luther, area 49,830 acres (202 km²). Opened in 1821 and named after the leader of the Reformation in Germany, Martin Luther. It was said that the surveyor, a Roman Catholic, having been embarrassed by the endless swamps he had encountered declared that this was "the meanest piece of country he had seen" and named it Luther for that reason. Community centres: Monck, Stonywood, Damascus and Arthur.
• Maryborough, area 56,728 acres (230 km²). Opened in 1840 and named after a brother of the Duke of Wellington, Baron Maryborough. Community centres: Drayton, Moorefield and Rothsay.
• Minto, area 69,927 acres (283 km²) Opened in 1840 and named after the Earl of Minto, a famous pro-consul in India. Settled mainly between 1861 to 1875. Comummnity centres: Harriston, Palmerston, and Clifford.
• Nichol, area 26,996 acres (109 km²) One of the townships leased by Joseph Brant under power of attorney for the Indians of th Grand River region. The Township was granted to Hon. Thomas Clark on a lease of 999 years for 3,564, but the contract was modified by the Crown. The Township was opened for settlement in 1822. Named in honour of Col Robert Nichol of Norfolk who distinguished himself in the War of 1812 and latter in political battles. Community centres: Elora, Fergus, Salem and Barnet.
• Peel, area 74,525 acres (302 km²), Opened in 1835 and named in honour of Sir Robert Peel. Settled mainly between 1850 to 1853. Community centres: Drayton, Glenallan, Goldstone and Alma.
• Pilkington, area 28,983 acres (117 km²) named in honour of Lieutenant Robert Pilkington (later General Pilkington) who accompanied John Graves Simcoe to Upper Canada. Pilkington acquired 20,000 acres (80 km²) of land. Community Centre: Elora in Nichol Township.
• Puslinch: area 58,291 acres (236 km²) Named from Pushlinch in Devonshire, Lady Colborne's home before her marriage. .

Community involvement and awards

In October 2008, the County of Wellington was named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc. and featured in Maclean's newsmagazine.^[5] Later that month, the County was recognized as one of Waterloo Area's Top Employers and featured in the Guelph Mercury newspaper.^[6]

References

External links

• Wellington County website
• Wellington Guelph Community Portal
• Wellington County Tourism