Elgin County
title: "Elgin County" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["elgin-county", "counties-in-ontario", "populated-places-on-lake-erie-in-canada", "southwestern-ontario", "states-and-territories-established-in-1851", "1851-establishments-in-canada-west"] topic_path: "geography/canada" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_County" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | |
| official_name | County of Elgin |
| settlement_type | County (upper-tier) |
| total_type | |
| motto | "Progressive by Nature!" |
| image_blank_emblem | ElginCountyONlogo.png |
| blank_emblem_type | Logo |
| blank_emblem_size | 130px |
| image_map | Map of Ontario ELGIN.svg |
| mapsize | 280px |
| map_caption | Location of Elgin County in Canada |
| subdivision_type | |
| subdivision_name | Canada |
| subdivision_type1 | Province |
| subdivision_name1 | |
| subdivision_name2 | |
| seat_type | County seat |
| seat | St. Thomas |
| parts_type | Municipalities |
| parts_style | |
| parts | |
| p1 | Town of Aylmer |
| p2 | Municipality of Bayham |
| p3 | Municipality of Central Elgin |
| p4 | Municipality of Dutton/Dunwich |
| p5 | Municipality of West Elgin |
| p6 | Township of Malahide |
| p7 | Township of Southwold |
| leader_title1 | |
| established_title | Organized |
| established_date | 1851 from Suffolk County |
| area_footnotes | |
| area_land_km2 | 1845.41 |
| area_water_percent | |
| elevation_footnotes | |
| elevation_min_m | |
| population_as_of | 2021 |
| population_footnotes | |
| population_total | 51912 |
| population_density_km2 | |
| timezone | EST |
| utc_offset | -5 |
| timezone_DST | EDT |
| utc_offset_DST | -4 |
| coordinates | |
| postal_code_type | |
| area_code | 519 / 226 / 548 |
| website | www.elgincounty.ca |
| :: |
| name = Elgin County | official_name = County of Elgin | other_name = | nickname = | settlement_type = County (upper-tier) | total_type = | motto = "Progressive by Nature!" | image_skyline = | imagesize = | image_caption = | image_flag = | flag_size = | image_seal = | seal_size = | image_shield = | shield_size = | image_blank_emblem = ElginCountyONlogo.png | blank_emblem_type = Logo | blank_emblem_size = 130px | image_map = Map of Ontario ELGIN.svg | mapsize = 280px | map_caption = Location of Elgin County in Canada | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Canada | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | seat_type = County seat | seat = St. Thomas | parts_type = Municipalities | parts_style = Default is list if up to 5 items, coll if more than 5-- | parts = | p1 = Town of Aylmer | p2 = Municipality of Bayham | p3 = Municipality of Central Elgin | p4 = Municipality of Dutton/Dunwich | p5 = Municipality of West Elgin | p6 = Township of Malahide | p7 = Township of Southwold | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | established_title = Organized | established_date = 1851 from Suffolk County | area_magnitude = | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = | area_land_km2 = 1845.41 | area_water_km2 = | area_water_percent = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_max_m = | elevation_min_m = | population_as_of = 2021 | population_footnotes = | population_note = | population_total = 51912 | population_density_km2 = | timezone = EST | utc_offset = -5 | timezone_DST = EDT | utc_offset_DST = -4 | coordinates = | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code = 519 / 226 / 548 | website = www.elgincounty.ca | footnotes = | blank_name = | blank_info = | blank1_name = | blank1_info =
Elgin County ( ) is a county composed of seven municipalities in Ontario, Canada with a 2021 population of 51,912. Its population centres are Aylmer, Port Stanley, Belmont, Dutton and West Lorne. The county seat is St. Thomas, which is separated from the county but within its geographic boundary.
Subdivisions
Elgin County is composed of seven incorporated municipalities (in order of population):
- Municipality of Central Elgin
- Township of Malahide
- Town of Aylmer
- Municipality of Bayham
- Municipality of West Elgin
- Township of Southwold
- Municipality of Dutton/Dunwich
The City of St. Thomas is geographically within the boundaries of Elgin County and part of the Elgin census division, but is separated from county administration.
Historical townships
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Townships_of_Elgin_County,_Ontario.jpg" caption="Townships of Elgin County (1877)"] ::
Originally Elgin County was once part of Middlesex County, which was reorganized as the United Counties of Middlesex and Elgin in 1851. Elgin was named after Lord Elgin, who was Governor General of Canada at the time.
The County was separated from Middlesex in September 1853.
::data[format=table title="Historic townships of Elgin County{{cite book |last1= Middleton|first1= Jesse Edgar|last2= Landon|first2= Fred|date= 1927|title= Province of Ontario: A History 1615 to 1927|url=https://archive.org/details/provinceofontari0003unse|url-access= registration|location= Toronto|publisher= Dominion Publishing Company}}"]
| Township | Area | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Aldborough | 75197 acre | In the early days it had a forest of oak, chestnut and black walnut. It was first settled in 1804. |
| Bayham | 56350 acre | Organized in 1810. It was named for Bayham Abbey in Kent. |
| Dunwich | 69592 acre | First settled in 1803. During the War of 1812 only twelve families lived in the township. In 1817 a company of Selkirk's Highlander settled in the Township. The Township is named after Dunwich in Suffolk. |
| Malahide | 69181 acre | Organized in 1810, named for Malahide Castle in Ireland, the former home of Thomas Talbot, patriot of the region. The Township was first settled in 1810. |
| South Dorchester | 30560 acre | Although surveyed in 1798, it was not settled until 1826. |
| Southwold | 72898 acre | Opened for settlement in 1797, however the first colonist arrived in 1809. Named for Southwold in Suffolk. |
| Yarmouth | 69181 acre | Surveyed in 1792 and settled in 1810. |
| :: |
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Atlas_of_the_Dominion._Counties_of_Middlesex,_Elgin,_Lambton._Province_of_Ontario._CTASC.jpg" caption="Historical map that includes Elgin County (1875)"] ::
Demographics
|title = Elgin County |type = Canada |align = right |width = |state = |shading = |percentages = |footnote = 2016, 2011, 2006, earlier |1871| |1881| |1891| |1901| |1911| |1921| |1931| |1941| |1951| |1961| |1971| |1981| |1991|-- |1996|47752 |2001|48250 |2006|49241 |2011|49556 |2016|50069 |2021|51912
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Elgin County had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 1878.57 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.
Notable persons from Elgin County
- Horace Harvey - Chief Justice of Alberta
- John Kenneth Galbraith - Canadian/American economist
- Mitchell Hepburn - Premier of Ontario
- Rachel McAdams - Actress
- Joe Thornton - NHL - Professional Hockey Player
- Bo Horvat - NHL - Professional Hockey Player
Notes
References
References
- {{Cite canlaw. (1849)
- {{Cite canlaw. (1851)
- . ["Proclamation"](http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/canada-gazette/093/001060-119.01-e.php?document_id_nbr=2316&f=p). *[[Canada Gazette]]*.
- (February 9, 2022). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census divisions". [[Statistics Canada]].
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