Peterborough County

---

title: "Peterborough County" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["peterborough-county", "counties-in-ontario"] topic_path: "general/peterborough-county" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterborough_County" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Peterborough County
official_name	County of Peterborough
native_name
settlement_type	County (upper-tier)
image_skyline	Lower Buckhorn Lake.JPG
image_caption	Lower Buckhorn Lake
image_map	Map of Ontario PETERBOROUGH.svg
mapsize	250px
map_caption	Location of Peterborough County
coordinates
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name
subdivision_type1	Province
subdivision_type2	Region
subdivision_name1
subdivision_name2	Central Ontario
established_title	Founded
established_date	1838 (as District of Colborne)
seat_type	County seat
seat	Peterborough
parts_type	Municipalities
parts_style
parts
p1	Asphodel-Norwood
p2	Cavan-Monaghan
p3	Douro-Dummer
p4	Havelock-Belmont-Methuen
p5	North Kawartha
p6	Otonabee-South Monaghan
p7	Selwyn
p8	Trent Lakes
leader_title1
total_type
area_footnotes
area_land_km2
area_blank1_title	Census division
area_blank1_km2	3779.47
area_note	Land area excludes Peterborough
elevation_footnotes	tags--
population_total
population_as_of	2021
population_footnotes
population_density_km2
population_blank1_title	Census division
population_blank1	147,681
population_density_blank1_km2	39.1
population_note	Total excludes Peterborough
postal_code_type
website
timezone	EST
utc_offset	-5
timezone_DST	EDT
utc_offset_DST	-4
::

| name = Peterborough County | official_name = County of Peterborough | native_name = | other_name = | settlement_type = County (upper-tier) | image_skyline = Lower Buckhorn Lake.JPG | imagesize = | image_caption = Lower Buckhorn Lake | image_flag = | flag_size = | image_seal = | seal_size = | image_shield = | shield_size = | image_blank_emblem = | blank_emblem_type = | blank_emblem_size = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = Map of Ontario PETERBOROUGH.svg | mapsize = 250px | map_caption = Location of Peterborough County | coordinates = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_type2 = Region | subdivision_name1 = | subdivision_name2 = Central Ontario | established_title = Founded | established_date = 1838 (as District of Colborne) | seat_type = County seat | seat = Peterborough | parts_type = Municipalities | parts_style = Default is list if up to 5 items, coll if more than 5-- | parts = | p1 = Asphodel-Norwood | p2 = Cavan-Monaghan | p3 = Douro-Dummer | p4 = Havelock-Belmont-Methuen | p5 = North Kawartha | p6 = Otonabee-South Monaghan | p7 = Selwyn | p8 = Trent Lakes | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | total_type = | area_footnotes = | area_magnitude = | area_total_km2 = | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_percent = | area_blank1_title = Census division | area_blank1_km2 = 3779.47 | area_note = Land area excludes Peterborough | elevation_footnotes = tags-- | elevation_m = | elevation_min_m = | elevation_max_m = | population_total = | population_as_of = 2021 | population_footnotes = | population_density_km2 = | population_blank1_title = Census division | population_blank1 = 147,681 | population_density_blank1_km2 = 39.1 | population_note = Total excludes Peterborough | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code = | website = | footnotes = | timezone = EST | utc_offset = -5 | timezone_DST = EDT | utc_offset_DST = -4

Peterborough County is a county and census division located in Southern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is the City of Peterborough, which is independent of the county.

The southern section of the county is mix of agriculture, urban and lakefront properties. The northern section of the county is mostly sparsely populated wilderness, with numerous rivers and lakes mostly within Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park.

The county contains the Kawarthas, a major tourist region.

History

| width=250| height=300 | coord = | zoom =8
| caption = Map of Peterborough County, showing townships and main settlements. | minimap=file | mini-file = Ontario Locator Map.svg | mini-width = 79 | mini-height = 77 | minipog-x = 66| minipog-y = 54| scalemark = 75 | map-data=Q730542 | map-data-light=Q7108993,Q7055761,Q728264,Q4116647,Q4807977,Q5302304,Q5683573,Q4116601 | mark-coord = | label=| mark-size=6| mark-title=Peterborough, Ontario | label1=Havelock| mark-coord1=|label-color1=#887777|label-size1=11| mark-size1=6| label-pos1=right| mark-title1=none | label2= | mark-coord2=| mark-title2=none | label3=Stoney Lake| mark-coord3=| label-size3=10| mark-size3=0| label-color3=#77A1CB| label-pos3=top| | label-angle3=-34| mark-title3=none | label4=Rice Lake| mark-coord4=| label-size4=10| label-angle4=-45| mark-size4=0| label-color4=#77A1CB| mark-title4=none | label5=Pigeon Lake| mark-coord5=|label-size5=10|label-pos5=top| label-angle5=85|mark-size5=0| label-color5=#77A1CB| mark-title5=none | label6=Trent River| mark-coord6=| label-angle6=-53|label-pos6=top| label-size6=9| mark-size6=0| label-color6=#77A1CB| mark-title6=none | label7= Kawartha| labela7= Highlands| labelb7=Provincial Park| mark-coord7=| label-size7=9| label-pos7=bottom| label-color7=#81AF81| mark-size7=0| mark-title7=none | mark-coord8= | label8=Buckhorn| label-pos8=top| mark-title8=none | label9=Otonabee| mark-coord9=| mark-title9=none| label-angle9=-20|label-pos9=top| label-size9=9| mark-size9=0| label-color9=#77A1CB | label10=Norwood| mark-coord10=|label-pos10=left| mark-title10=none | label11=O T O N A B E E –| labela11=S O U T H | labelb11=M O N A G H A N| mark-coord11=| mark-title11=Otonabee–South Monaghan|label-pos11=top| label-color11=#AA9999| mark-size11=0| label-size11=8 | label12=N O R T H|labela12=K A W A R T H A| mark-coord12=| mark-title12=North Kawartha|label-pos12=top| label-color12=#AA9999| mark-size12=0| label-size12=8 | label13=T R E N T|labela13=L A K E S| mark-coord13=| mark-title13=Trent Lakes|label-pos13=top| label-color13=#AA9999| mark-size13=0| label-size13=8 | label14=C A V A N|labela14=M O N A G H A N| mark-coord14=| mark-title14=Cavan Monaghan|label-pos14=top| label-color14=#AA9999| mark-size14=0| label-size14=8 | label15=A S P H O D E L -|labela15=N O R W O O D| mark-coord15=| mark-title15=Asphodel-Norwood|label-pos15=top| label-color15=#AA9999| mark-size15=0| label-size15=8 | label16=D O U R O -|labela16=D U M M E R| mark-coord16=| mark-title16=Douro-Dummer|label-pos16=top| label-color16=#AA9999| mark-size16=0| label-size16=8 | label17=H A V E L O C K -| labela17=B E L M O N T - | labelb17=M E T H U E N| mark-coord17=| mark-title17=Havelock-Belmont-Methuen|label-pos17=top| label-color17=#AA9999| mark-size17=0| label-size17=8 | label18=S E L W Y N| mark-coord18=| mark-title18=Selwyn, Ontario|label-pos18=top| label-color18=#AA9999| mark-size18=0| label-size18=8 | mark-coord19= | label19=Douro| label-pos19=bottom| label-offset-y19=-3| mark-title19=none | mark-coord20= | label20=Bridgenorth| label-pos20=bottom| label-offset-y20=-3|mark-title20=none

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:

::data[format=table title="Organization of the Colborne District (1841)1837 Act, s. 1"]

County of Peterborough
::

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.

::data[format=table title="Townships forming the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria (1851)"]

County of Peterborough	County of Victoria
::

|Image = 1862 Johnson Map of Ontario and Quebec, Canada - Geographicus - QuebecOntario-johnson-1862.jpg |bSize = 700 |cWidth = 250 |cHeight = 220 |oTop = 550 |oLeft = 270 |Location = right |Description = 1862 Johnson Map of Ontario, showing full extent of Peterborough County at that time in pink. 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:

::data[format=table title="Townships forming the County of Peterborough (1874)"]

Townships	Area	Opened	Description
Asphodel	37871 acre	1821	Named after the Greek word for lily.
Belmont and Methuen	Area 81088 acre	1823	By 1842 it had only 33 householders; in 1866 only 185. Townships were mainly rock, lake and stream.
Burleigh and Anstruther	32160 acre	1861	First Post Office was called Burleigh. Separated from Dummer Township in 1865.
Chandos	56225 acre	1862	Named after the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos
Douro	34446 acre	1821	Named after the Battle of Douro in the Peninsular War.
Dummer	68812 acre	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.
Ennismore	17245 acre	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.
Galway and Cavendish	57218 acre	1857/1862
Harvey	68755 acre	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.
North Monaghan	14096 acre	1820
Otonabee	64024 acre	1820	Named after the Otonabee River. The word in the Ojibwe language signifies a delta.
Smith	58043 acre	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

|location = Peterborough County (census division) |2021_population=147,681 | 2021_pop_delta=+6.8 | 2021_land_area=3,779.47 | 2021_pop_density=39.1 |2021_median_age=46.8 | 2021_median_age_m=45.2 | 2021_median_age_f=48.4 |2021_mean_hh_income=78,500 |2021_geocode=2021A00033515 | 2021_access_date=2022-04-27 |2021_total_pvt_dwell=73,045 |2021_occ_pvt_dwell=61,741 |2016_population=138,236|2016_pop_delta=+2.5| 2016_land_area=3,848.20 | 2016_pop_density=35.9 |2016_total_pvt_dwell=70,551 |2016_occ_pvt_dwell=57,743 | 2016_mean_hh_income=64,437 |2016_median_age= 46.9| 2016_median_age_m= 45.4| 2016_median_age_f=48.3 |2011_population=134,933 | 2011_pop_delta=1.4 | 2011_land_area=,3847.77 |2011_pop_density=35.1 |2011_median_age= 45.7| 2011_median_age_m= 44.3| 2011_median_age_f=46.7 |2011_total_pvt_dwell=68,009 | 2011_mean_hh_income= | 2011_access_date=2012-03-22 |2006_population=133,080 | 2006_pop_delta=5.7 | 2006_land_area=3,805.71 | 2006_pop_density=35.0 |2006_median_age=43.6 | 2006_median_age_m=42.5 | 2006_median_age_f=44.6 |2006_total_pvt_dwell=67,281 | 2006_mean_hh_income= | 2006_access_date=2012-03-22 |2001_population=125,856 | 2001_pop_delta=2.0 | 2001_land_area=3,806.03 | 2001_pop_density=33.1 |2001_median_age=41.1 | 2001_median_age_m=40.1 | 2001_median_age_f=42.1 |2001_total_pvt_dwell=62,304 | 2001_mean_hh_income= | 2001_access_date=2012-03-22 |notes = Includes City of Peterborough

| title = Historical census populations – Peterborough County | type = Canada | align = none | cols = 3 | state = | shading = | percentages = | footnote = Includes City of Peterborough. Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. | source = Statistics Canada | 1921 |42261 | 1931 |43958 | 1941 |47392 | 1951 |60789 | 1956 |67981 | 1961 |76375 | 1966 |81959 | 1971 |87804 | 1976 |99930 | 1981 |102452 | 1986 |105056 | 1991 |119992 |1996|123448 |2001|125856 |2006|133080 |2011|134933 |2016|138236 |2021|147681

::data[format=table title="[[Panethnicity|Panethnic]] groups in Peterborough County (2001−2021)"] | Panethnic group | 2021 | 2016 | 2011 | 2006 | 2001 | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Total responses | 144,840 | 135,075 | 131,930 | 131,520 | 123,600 | Total population | 147,681 | 138,236 | 134,928 | 133,080 | 125,856 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 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 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

Major places

Cities

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Barn_&_Silo.jpg" caption="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.

Notes

References

References

1. "Peterborough, County (CTY) Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". Government of Canada - Statistics Canada.
2. (2006). "Restructured municipalities - Ontario map #5". [[Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (Ontario).
3. (September 26, 2008). "Peterborough and the Kawarthas". [[Trent University]].
4. ''Proclamation'', Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, July 16, 1792; reprinted in ''Statutes of the Province of Upper Canada; Together with Such British Statutes, Ordinances of Quebec, and Proclamations, as Relate to the Said Province'' (Kingston: F. M. Hill, 1831), p. 24.
5. [https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00848/80?r=0&s=1 ''An act for the better division of this province'', SUC 1798 (38 Geo. III), c. 5, s. 19. Reprinted in ''The Statutes of Upper Canada to the Time of Union, Revised and Published by Authority'', Vol. I - Public Acts (Toronto: Robert Stanton, Queen's Printer, 1843).]
6. {{Cite canlaw. (1802)
7. {{Cite canlaw. (1837)
8. 1837 Act, s. 1
9. {{Cite canlaw. (1851)
10. {{Cite canlaw. (1856)
11. {{Cite canlaw. (1861)
12. {{Cite canlaw. (1863)
13. {{Cite canlaw. (1874)
14. (1927). "Province of Ontario: A History 1615 to 1927". Dominion Publishing Company.
15. {{Cite canlaw. (1905)
16. {{Cite canlaw. (1973)
17. (July 1973). "1971 Census of Canada - Population Census Subdivisions (Historical)". Statistics Canada.
18. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2021-10-27). "Census Profile, 2016 Census".
19. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2015-11-27). "NHS Profile".
20. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2019-08-20). "2006 Community Profiles".
21. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2019-07-02). "2001 Community Profiles".

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