Former District in Upper Canada
Former District in Upper Canada
London District
Former District in Upper Canada
Map of Upper Canada Identifying its districts, counties and townships (1818)
Established 1798 Dissolved 1849
TheLondon District was a historicdistrict inUpper Canada . It was formed in 1798 from parts of theHome andWestern Districts , and lasted until its abolition in 1850.
The District was formed by an Act of theParliament of Upper Canada in 1798, and was described as consisting of
...the Counties ofNorfolk ,Oxford andMiddlesex with so much of this Province as lies to the Westward of theHome District , and theDistrict of Niagara , to the Southward ofLake Huron , and between them and a line drawn due north of a fixed boundary (where the easternmost limit of the township of Oxford intersects theRiver Thames till it arrives at Lake Huron...[ 1]
The townships and counties were thus organized:
Counties of the London District (1798)[ 2] Norfolk County Oxford County Middlesex County Rainham Walpole Woodhouse Charlotteville Walsingham Houghton Middleton Windham Townsend Burford Norwich Dereham Oxford upon the Thames Blandford Blenheim London Westminster Dorchester Yarmouth Southwold Dunwich Aldborough Delaware
The district town was Charlotteville (later namedTurkey Point ), but moved to Tisdale's Mills (later namedVittoria ) in 1815.[ 3] [ 4] In 1826, the district town was moved toLondon , and the townships ofRainham andWalpole were moved toHaldimand County inNiagara District because of their distance from London.[ 5]
TheHuron Tract , being developed at the time by theCanada Company , was divided between the London andWestern Districts in 1835, with the greater part of the territory in the London District forming the newHuron County .[ 6] That County was later withdrawn in October 1841 to form the newHuron District .[ 7]
In 1837, Oxford County was separated into the newBrock District ,[ 8] and Norfolk County was separated to formTalbot District .[ 9]
In 1840, the following lands were withdrawn from London District and attached toWaterloo County inWellington District :[ 10] [ 11]
reserved lands west of Woolwich and Nichol[ 12] the triangular piece of land adjoining the said tract in the proposed District of Huron[ 13] part of the late purchase from the Indians of Gore,[ 14] and part of Indian lands[ 15] [ 16] In 1845, the District was restricted in area to cover Middlesex County only.[ 17] thus detaching the remainder of its northern part extending to Lake Huron. This was rectified by the territory's attachment to Huron District in 1846.[ 18]
At the beginning of 1850, the district was abolished, being replaced by theUnited Counties of Middlesex and Elgin and in 1850 as standalone Middlesex County for municipal purposes.[ 19]
Armstrong, Frederick H. Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology. Toronto : Dundurn Press, 1985.ISBN 0-919670-92-X ^ An act for the better division of this province , S.U.C. 1798, c. 5, s. 37^ 1798 Act, ss. 33, 35, 36 ^ "The District Capital 1815-1825" .ontarioplaques.com . RetrievedJanuary 13, 2018 .^ An Act to repeal part of, and to amend an Act of the Parliament of this Province, intituled, "An Act to remove doubt with respect to the authority under which the Courts of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, and other Courts have been erected and holden, and other matters with respect to the Administration of Justice, done in the several Districts of this Province, and also to fix the time of holding the Courts of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace in and for the same," and to make further provision for the same , S.U.C. 1815, c. 16^ An Act to establish the District Town of the District of London to a more central position than at present, and to annex the Townships of Walpole and Rainham to the County of Haldimand, in the District of Niagara , S.U.C. 1826, c. 13^ An Act to form certain Townships in the London District into a County, and to attach certain Townships to the Counties of Middlesex and Kent, in the London and Western Districts , S.U.C. 1835, c. 46^ An Act to authorize the erection of the County of Huron, and certain other territory adjacent thereto, into a separate District , S.U.C. 1838, c. 26, brought into effect by"Proclamation" .Canada Gazette .1 (3 (Extra)): 30. October 21, 1841.^ An Act to authorise the erection of the County of Oxford into a separate District, by the name of the District of Brock , S.U.C. 1837, c. 30^ An Act erecting the County of Norfolk into a separate District, by the name of the District of Talbot , S.U.C. 1837, c. 33^ An Act erecting certain parts of the Counties of Halton and Simcoe into a new District, by the name of the District of Wellington , S.U.C. 1837 (1st Session), c. 116, implemented by Proclamation of June 18, 1840^ Armstrong, Frederick H. (1985).Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology . Toronto: Dundurn Press. p. 195.ISBN 0-919670-92-X . Archived fromthe original on 2017-09-19. Retrieved2018-01-16 . ^ later surveyed to form the townships of Wellesley and Peel ^ later surveyed to form the townships of Maryborough and Wallace ^ being theMississaugas ^ acquired under theSaugeen Tract Agreement ^ the sum of which was surveyed into townships on either side of theGarafraxa Road that was constructed in the period 1840-1848 to the new community ofSydenham ^ An Act for better defining the limits of the Counties and Districts in Upper Canada, for erecting certain new Townships, for detaching Townships from some Counties and attaching them to others, and for other purposes relative to the division of Upper Canada into Townships, Counties and Districts ,S.C. 1845, c. 7, s. 8^ An Act to attach certain Territory therein described to the District of Huron for certain purposes , S.Prov.C. 1846, c. 47^ An Act for abolishing the Territorial Division of Upper-Canada into Districts, and for providing temporary Unions of Counties for Judicial and other purposes, and for the future dissolutions of such Unions, as the increase of wealth and population may require , S.Prov.C. 1849, c. 78, Sch. C43°24′N 81°12′W / 43.4°N 81.2°W /43.4; -81.2