Meaford, Ontario

Meaford
Municipality (lower-tier)
Municipality of Meaford

Logo
Motto: "Set your sights on Meaford"
Meaford

Location in southern Ontario

Coordinates: 44°35′N 80°44′W / 44.583°N 80.733°W / 44.583; -80.733Coordinates: 44°35′N 80°44′W / 44.583°N 80.733°W / 44.583; -80.733
Country  Canada
Province  Ontario
County Grey
Formed January 1, 2001
Government
 • Mayor Barb Clumpus
 • Federal riding Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound
 • Prov. riding Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound
Area[1]
 • Land 588.61 km2 (227.26 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 11,100
 • Density 18.9/km2 (49/sq mi)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Forward sortation area N4L
Area code(s) 519 and 226
Website www.meaford.ca

Meaford is a Canadian municipality in Grey County, Ontario. Meaford is located on Nottawasaga Bay, a sub-basin of Georgian Bay and Owen Sound Bay, in southern Ontario. The municipality's seal and motto reflect its heritage as a place of apple orchards, but in the 21st century the area has partly switched to weekend homes, seasonal homes, and lakeside tourism.

The Canadian Army maintains a training facility, 4th Canadian Division Training Centre Meaford (4 CDTC), 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northwest of the Town of Meaford.

History

In 1837, when this area was part of the St. Vincent Township, locals asked the government for a piece of land at the mouth of the Bighead River. The first settler was from Ireland, before the townsite was laid out by Charles Rankin in 1845 and called Meaford. By then, a sawmill and gristmill were already operating nearby; the post office there was called St. Vincent. Meaford saw little growth until 1850 but then began booming; it had a library by 1856.[2]

The post office was renamed Meaford in 1865; by then, the community was booming and had connection by steamship and roads with the railway at Collingwood. The community became a town in 1874.[3]

In 1872, there were six churches; the railway arrived at Meaford, serving its population of 1700. By the early 1880s, Meaford boasted three planing mills, three carriage factories, two tanneries, a sawmill, a shingle mill, a woollen mill, two foundries, two flour mills, a dozen general stores, and a wide range of other stores and tradesmen. The community also had ten hotels. A public school was added in 1868 with 152 students within a year. A high school was opened in 1890.[4]

Communities

In addition to the communities of Annan, Bognor, Leith and Woodford, the municipality also includes town of Meaford itself (44°36′N 80°35′W).

2001 amalgamation

In 2001, with the amalgamation of various municipalities in Southern Ontario, St. Vincent Township, Sydenham Township and the Town of Meaford, were amalgamated to form one municipality entity. Sydenham Township named in part for Lord Sydenham, governor of Canada from 1839 to 1841. St. Vincent Township was named after the Earl of St. Vincent and Meaford was named after his stately house. A township is an area of land (about 15 miles by 12 miles)that is divided into 100 acre farms (usually). For more than one hundred years the townships of Ontario were municipal entities with an elected council and a reeve. Sometimes a small area of a township was separated and incorporated as a town. The town was then a separate and distinct municipality. This was the case with Meaford in 1874 when it was separated from St. Vincent township. However it ceased to be a town at the time of amalgamation.

A transition team preparing for the new municipality voted in September 2000 to name it Georgian Highlands, with the name Meaford ranking second. Highland Hills, Georgian Shores, Bayview, Trillium, Big Head Valley, Georgian View, Cape Rich, Bay Shore Highlands, Georgian Bay Highlands, North Grey and Queen's Bush were other names considered.[5]

But the council of the new Georgian Highlands municipality voted 4-3 on 5 February 2001 voted to name the amalgamated area Meaford, citing confusion with nearby municipalities such as Georgian Bluffs and Grey Highlands. A by-law to formalize the name change to Meaford for the amalgamated area was subsequently passed on 5 March 2001, also by a 4-3 vote. Since that time confusion has continued in the use of the name "Meaford". At present the name "Meaford" is commonly used in reference to the urban area formerly known as the Town of Meaford, while the name "Municipality of Meaford" is commonly used in reference to the merged region resulting from amalgamation in 2001.

Demographics

Canada census – Meaford, Ontario community profile
2011 2006
Population: 11,100 (1.4% from 2006) 10,948 (5.5% from 2001)
Land area: 588.61 km2 (227.26 sq mi) 588.47 km2 (227.21 sq mi)
Population density: 18.9/km2 (49/sq mi) 18.6/km2 (48/sq mi)
Median age: 46.7 (M: 45.6, F: 47.7)
Total private dwellings: 5327 5193
Median household income: $51,634
Notes: 2001 info for "Georgian Highlands (town)". – References: 2011[1] 2006[6] earlier[7]

Population trend:[8]

Politics

The former mayors of Meaford were:

Meaford is on the eastern edge of the Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound federal and provincial electoral district.

Media

The town is served by two community newspapers, the Meaford Express and the Meaford Independent, the latter originally an online only publication, however as of May 31, 2013, is available both online and in print. CKNX-FM, originating from Wingham, Ontario to the south, has a low-power retransmitter on 104.9 FM to serve Centreville and Meaford. Meaford is otherwise served principally by media from nearby Owen Sound. Rogers cable is available in the Town of Meaford while residents in the former St. Vincent and Sydenham have access only to Satellite TV.

Transportation

The town of Meaford is located on Ontario Highway 26 between Owen Sound and Collingwood on Highway 26.

There is public transit but it only serves the urban area not Sydenham and St Vincent, but Greyhound Canada makes daily schedule stops at the town of Meaford on the route from Toronto to Owen Sound. Local taxis service the area around the town of Meaford.

Billy Bishop Regional Airport is located in the municipality on Highway 26 between the Town of Meaford and Owen Sound.

Education

Meaford has two public schools with the Bluewater District School Board;

The closest post-secondary school is the Georgian College regional campus in Owen Sound, Ontario.

Culture

Trivia

Notable residents

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Meaford census profile". 2011 Census of Population. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
  2. ↑ http://www.meaford.ca/about/history.html
  3. ↑ http://www.waynecook.com/agrey.html
  4. ↑ http://www.greyroots.com/exhibitions/virtual-exhibits/mary-williams-trout-diaries-of-a-small-town-lady/a-brief-history-of-meaford/
  5. ↑ Woodhouse, Scott (2000-09-13). "Georgian Highlands selected as new name". The Meaford Express. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  6. ↑ "2006 Community Profiles". Canada 2006 Census. Statistics Canada. March 30, 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  7. ↑ "2001 Community Profiles". Canada 2001 Census. Statistics Canada. February 17, 2012.
  8. ↑ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census
  9. 1 2 Fell, Chris (2000-11-15). "Gerald Shortt elected first Mayor of Georgian Highlands". The Meaford Express. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  10. ↑ Wally Reif resigns, effective now
  11. ↑ "Conmee Family Photo Gallery". 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  12. ↑ "Biographies: Lloyd, Marshall Burns". mlloyd.org, sourced from Who's Who in America, 1926-27. Retrieved 2014-05-10.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.