Origins and evolution
In 1615, Samuel de Champlain was one of the first western explorers who traveled through the area, coming down from Lake Chemong and portaging down a trail, which is approximated by present-day Chemong Road, to the Otonabee River and stayed for a brief time near the present-day site of Bridgenorth, just north of Peterborough.
The area was initially part of Northumberland County, which was formed by proclamation of the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe in 1792, and defined by statute in 1798. In 1802, Northumberland was included in the Newcastle District. In 1841, the northern part of the District was detached to form the Colborne District, with the northern portion of Northumberland county made into the new County of Peterborough. It consisted of the following territory:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Organization of the Colborne District (1841)
|-
!County of Peterborough
|- valign="top"
|
The townships of
- Belmont
- Methurn
- Burleigh
- Dummer
- Asphodel
- Otonabee
- Douro
- Smith
- Ennismore
- Harvey
- Verulam
- Emily
- Ops
- Fenelon
- Mariposa
- Eldon
- Bexley
- Somerville
and
- the seven rear concessions of Monaghan
- the unsurveyed lands in rear thereof, and the Islands lying wholly or in greater part opposite thereto...
|}
The county was named in honor of Col. Peter Robinson, who in 1825 brought 2,000 settlers from Ireland. The route taken was by way of Port Hope, Rice Lake and the Otonabee River, the same route used by the first settlers that entered this region in 1818.
The centre of the County was originally the courthouse, which is still considered an important historical site.
In 1851, Peterborough County was divided into the counties of Peterborough and Victoria, which were united for municipal purposes as the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Townships forming the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria (1851)
|-
! County of Peterborough !!County of Victoria
|- valign="top"
|
- Belmont
- Methuen
- Burleigh
- Dummer
- Harvey
- Douro
- Smith
- Monaghan North
- Asphodel
- Ennismore
- Otonabee
|
- Mariposa
- Ops
- Emily
- Eldon
- Fenelon
- Bexley
- Verulam
- Somerville
|}
A plebiscite was authorized in 1856 to facilitate the creation of a provisional county council for Victoria, but, as the united counties council delayed conducting it, a further Act was passed in 1861 to compel its being held, following which the provisional council was formed. and its formal separation took place in 1863.
Further townships were surveyed, thus extending the reach of the County northwards. In 1874, the townships of Bruton, Cardiff, Dysart, Dudley, Glamorgan, Guilford, Harburn, Harcourt, Minden, Monmouth, Snowden and Stanhope were withdrawn from the County and transferred to the new Provisional County of Haliburton.
After the transfer of the northern townships to Haliburton, the remainder of the County consisted of the following:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Townships forming the County of Peterborough (1874)
|-
! Townships !!Area !!Opened !!Description
|- valign="top"
|Asphodel||||1821||Named after the Greek word for lily.
|- valign="top"
|Belmont and Methuen||Area ||1823||By 1842 it had only 33 householders; in 1866 only 185. Townships were mainly rock, lake and stream.
|- valign="top"
|Burleigh and Anstruther||||1861||First Post Office was called Burleigh. Separated from Dummer Township in 1865.
|- valign="top"
|Chandos||||1862||Named after the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos
|- valign="top"
|Douro||||1821||Named after the Battle of Douro in the Peninsular War.
|- valign="top"
|Dummer||||1821||Named in honor of William Dummer Powell, Chief Justice of Upper Canada. A Colony of immigrants came in 1831, of whom 150 were sent out by the Marquess of Bath.
|- valign="top"
|Ennismore||||1829||Named in honor of William Hare, Viscount Ennismore, formerly M.P. for Cork City in the Parliament of Ireland, who died in 1827. Originally it was called Emily Gore.
|- valign="top"
|Galway and Cavendish||||1857/1862||
|- valign="top"
|Harvey||||1821||Named after Sir John Harvey, Deputy Adjutant General in Canada during the War of 1812. Was part of Smith township until 1866. First settler were retired officers who come in 1832, but did not succeed.
|- valign="top"
|North Monaghan||||1820||
|- valign="top"
|Otonabee||||1820||Named after the Otonabee River. The word in the Ojibwe language signifies a delta.
|- valign="top"
|Smith||||1819||Settled by Allen Otty.
|}
The Town of Peterborough became a City in 1905, and was subsequently withdrawn from the County for municipal purposes.
In 1974, as a result of the creation of the Regional Municipality of Durham, the township of Cavan and the village of Millbrook were withdrawn from Durham County, and the township of South Monaghan was withdrawn from Northumberland County, to be transferred to Peterborough County.
Current municipalities
As a consequence of the Common Sense Revolution in Ontario, the County was restructured into the following municipalities during the period 1997-2004:
- Township of Asphodel-Norwood
- Township of Cavan-Monaghan
- Township of Douro-Dummer
- Township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen
- Township of North Kawartha
- Township of Otonabee-South Monaghan
- Township of Selwyn
- Municipality (Township) of Trent Lakes
Two First Nations reserves are independent of county administration:
- Curve Lake First Nation 35
- Hiawatha First Nation
Demographics
{| class="wikitable collapsible sortable"
|+ Panethnic groups in Peterborough County (2001−2021)
! rowspan="2" |Panethnic<br/>group
! colspan="2" |2021
! colspan="2" |2011
! colspan="2" |2006
! colspan="2" |2001
|-
!Population (human biology)|
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
|-
| European
| 128,150
|
| 123,010
|
| 123,080
|
| 124,165
|
| 117,560
|
|-
| Indigenous
| 7,095
|
| 6,160
|
| 4,810
|
| 4,145
|
| 3,085
|
|-
| South Asian
| 3,030
|
| 1,565
|
| 885
|
| 680
|
| 965
|
|-
| East Asian
| 1,630
|
| 1,395
|
| 955
|
| 1,060
|
| 815
|
|-
| African
| 1,620
|
| 1,005
|
| 785
|
| 625
|
| 500
|
|-
| Southeast Asian
| 1,270
|
| 870
|
| 590
|
| 295
|
| 260
|
|-
| Middle Eastern
| 855
|
| 435
|
| 310
|
| 190
|
| 120
|
|-
| Latin American
| 530
|
| 245
|
| 240
|
| 265
|
| 140
|
|-
| Other
| 660
|
| 405
|
| 255
|
| 95
|
| 160
|
|-
! Total responses
! 144,840
!
! 135,075
!
! 131,930
!
! 131,520
!
! 123,600
!
|-
! Total population
! 147,681
!
! 138,236
!
! 134,928
!
! 133,080
!
! 125,856
!
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="15" |
|}
Major places
Cities
thumb|Rural scene, Peterborough County, near Lakefield, Ontario
- Peterborough, Ontario
Towns/Villages
- Buckhorn, Ontario
- Lakefield, Ontario
- Norwood, Ontario
- Havelock, Ontario
- Douro, Ontario
- Apsley, Ontario
- Millbrook, Ontario
- Bridgenorth, Ontario
Media
In 1994, the Connection newspaper (previously known as Causeway Connection) established in Selwyn in central Peterborough County. The free monthly cottage country newspaper is distributed by mail, providing non-partisan news and information. The Connection is expanding both its distribution areas and internet presence.
See also
- List of municipalities in Ontario
- List of townships in Ontario
- List of secondary schools in Ontario#Peterborough County