Dysart et al, Ontario

The United Townships of Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn, Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde, commonly known as the Municipality of Dysart et al, is a municipality in Haliburton County in Central Ontario, Canada.[2][3] The original townships were of the Canadian Land and Emigration Company. At 61 letters or 68 non-space characters, the municipality has the longest name of any place in Canada.[4]

Dysart et al
United township (lower-tier)
United Townships of Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn, Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde
Motto(s):  Confidently yet cautiously
Dysart et al Location in southern Ontario
Coordinates: 45°12′N 78°25′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Haliburton
Settled	1860s
Incorporated	January 7, 1867
Government
• Type	Township
• Reeve	Andrea Roberts
• Federal riding	Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
• Prov. riding	Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
Area [1]
• Land	1,485.98 km^2 (573.74 sq mi)
Population  (2016)[1]
• Total	6,280
• Density	4.2/km^2 (11/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal Code	K0M
Area code(s)	705, 249
Website	www.dysartetal.ca

Etymologies

• Dysart was named in 1860 for Dysart, Fife in Scotland.[5]^:102
• Dudley received its name in 1860. It may have been named for Dudley in the West Midlands of England or it may have been given in honour of William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley.[5]^:97
• Harcourt was possibly named for Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt.[5]^:150
• Guilford was named in 1861 for Borough of Guildford in Surrey, England.[5]^:145
• Harburn was named in 1862, possibly after the River Harburn, a tributary of the River Dart in Devon.[5]^:150
• Bruton was named in 1862 for Bruton in Somerset, England.[5]^:47
• Havelock was named in 1859 for Major General Sir Henry Havelock (1795-1857), who served with distinction in India, Afghanistan, and Burma.[5]^:153
• Eyre was named in 1872 for Major General Sir William Eyre (1805–59), who served with distinction in South Africa.[5]^:116
• Clyde was named in 1872 for Field Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde.[5]^:73

Communities

Haliburton's main street

The municipality's primary town is Haliburton (45°02′50″N 78°30′30″W), a community on Head Lake. Haliburton has a seasonal tourism-based economy. Some of southern Ontario's population retreats to central and northern Ontario "cottage country" for recreation and relaxation during the summer.

Haliburton Village and Haliburton County derive their name from the author Thomas Chandler Haliburton, who wrote the popular "Sam Slick" stories in the mid-19th century. Haliburton was chairman of the Board of Directors of The British Land and Immigration Company in England, who were responsible for developing most of the area before it became incorporated into a "Provisional County" in 1887.

The municipality also includes the smaller communities of Donald, Eagle Lake, Fort Irwin, Goulds, Harburn, Harcourt,[6] Kennaway (ghost town),[7][8] Kennisis Lake and West Guilford.

History

In the 1860s, the Canadian Land and Emigration Company of London, England purchased 360,000 acres (150,000 ha) in this part of Ontario for settlement purposes. The development was named after company chairman Judge Thomas Haliburton, a politician and the author of the Sam Slick stories.[9][10] According to the book "Fragments of a Dream", the first European settlers began arriving in Haliburton village in 1864. Key settlers included Captain John Lucas (1824–1874). Lucas co-established the first saw/grist mill and was later elected the first Reeve of Dysart. Captain Lucas, originally a native of Long Preston, Yorkshire, England, also established the first hotel in town that later became the Grand Central Hotel. Other important settlers included W. Ritchie, Alexander Niven, James Holland, John Erskine, the Heard family and Willet Austin.

Haliburton was the northern terminus of the Victoria Railway (ex Canadian National Railway Haliburton subdivision) from Lindsay.[11][12] The first railway train to arrive in Haliburton was on November 26, 1878, with John Albert Lucas (1860–1945) as the train engineer. The railway was abandoned and the rails lifted in 1980. The station remains and is now home to Rails End Gallery and Arts Centre.

Fire tower history

The former Dysart fire tower was erected in 1956 on a hill by the east side of the village just off of Ontario Highway 118. Its 100-foot (30 m) frame still stands, but the cupola has since been removed. It was erected by Ontario's former Department of Lands and Forests (now the Ministry of Natural Resources) as an early detection to protect the local forests from fire. This tower was put out of use in the late 1960s when aerial detection systems were put in place. It was one of the County of Haliburton's many towers that were part of the former Lindsay Forest Fire District. Other towers included: Harburn, Eyre, Glamorgan (Green's Mountain), Harvey, Cardiff, Digby, Lutterworth, Sherboure (St. Nora), Dorset and Bruton. There were Department of Lands and Forests offices stationed in Minden, Ontario, Dorset and at St. Nora Lake (now the Leslie Frost Centre).

Education

The County of Haliburton is part of the Trillium Lakelands District School Board.

Elementary:

• Stuart W. Baker Elementary School (French Immersion): Grades K–4
• J. Douglas Hodgson Elementary School: Grades 4–8

Secondary:

• Haliburton Highlands Secondary School

Post-Secondary:

• Fleming College – Haliburton School of the Arts

Adult Education:

• Highlands Adult Education and Training Centre
• Fleming College Academic Upgrading

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1991	4,856	—
1996	5,380	+10.8%
2001	4,924	−8.5%
2006	5,526	+12.2%
2011	5,966	+8.0%
2016	6,280	+5.3%
[13][14][1]

Canada census – Dysart and Others community profile
	2016	2011	2006
Population:	6,280 (+5.3% from 2011)	5,966 (+8.0% from 2006)	5,526 (+12.2% from 2001)
Land area:	1,485.98 km^2 (573.74 sq mi)	1,483.51 km^2 (572.79 sq mi)	1,474.07 km^2 (569.14 sq mi)
Population density:	4.2/km^2 (11/sq mi)	4.0/km^2 (10/sq mi)	3.7/km^2 (9.6/sq mi)
Median age:	57.2 (M: 57.0, F: 57.4)		49.1 (M: 48.6, F: 49.7)
Total private dwellings:	7,083	7,093	6,861
Median household income:	$60,848		$45,186
References: 2016[15] 2011[14] 2006[16] earlier[17]

Mother tongue:[16]

• English as first language: 95.1%
• French as first language: 1.0%
• English and French as first language: 0.2%
• Other as first language: 3.7%

Culture

Dysart et al has a vibrant cultural community including Haliburton School of The Arts, Arts Council~Haliburton Highlands, Highlands Summer Festival, Highlands Opera Studio, Haliburton Highlands Museum, Haliburton Sculpture Forest, and Rails End Gallery & Arts Centre. The Haliburton International Film Festival (HIFF) is held each November at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion at the high school.

The Annual Haliburton Art and Craft Festival is held on the fourth weekend in July and is a signature event for Haliburton County with attendance of approx 7500 and over 100 artisans.

Haliburton appears as a significant setting in Canadian literature. Examples include Richard Pope's Me n Len – Life in the Haliburton Bush 1900–1940 and Robert Rotenberg's Old City Hall.

Scenes from the movie Meatballs (1979) were filmed at Camp White Pine, Haliburton.

Media

Dysart et al is served by two newspapers, The Haliburton Echo and The Highlander, and two radio stations, 100.9 Canoe FM and 93.5 The Moose.

Parks

Southern portions of Algonquin Provincial Park lie in Dysart et al in the geographic townships of Bruton, Clyde, Eyre and Harburn.[18]

Notable people

• Matt Duchene – NHL and Team Canada Hockey Player, drafted third overall in the 2009 National Hockey League Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche. Was third in Calder Memorial Trophy voting after the 2009-10 season, behind Tyler Myers of the Buffalo Sabres and Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings.
• Cody Hodgson – NHL hockey player drafted from the OHL's Brampton Battalion, selected 10th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft, grew up in Haliburton
• Howie Lockhart – Born April 22, 1897, in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. Was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 5 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto St. Pats, Quebec Bulldogs, Hamilton Tigers and Boston Bruins. Lockhart was a resident of Haliburton and died there on August 2, 1956.
• Bernie Nicholls – From West Guilford, Nicholls played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks.
• Ron Stackhouse – From Haliburton, Stackhouse played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League with the California Golden Seals, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins.

The local arena has mural paintings of Duchene, Hodgson, Nicholls, Stackhouse and Mike Bradley on the outside wall.

See also

• List of municipalities in Ontario
• List of townships in Ontario

References

1. "Census Profile, 2016 Census: Dysart et al, Municipality". Statistics Canada. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
2. "Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn, Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
3. "Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn, Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde". Atlas of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2011-11-11. Shows the area of the municipality highlighted on a map.
4. "GeoNames Government of Canada site". Archived from the original on 2009-02-06.
5. Rayburn, Alan (1997). Place names of Ontario. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7207-0. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
6. "Ontario Geonames GIS (on-line map and search)". Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. 2014. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
7. Martinello, Christopher (1998). "Welcome to Old Kennaway". Topics in material culture. University of Toronto, Department of History. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
8. "Kennaway". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
9. "Founding of Haliburton, The". Online Plaque Guide. Ontario Heritage Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
10. "Founding of Haliburton". Ontario's Historical Plaques. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
11. "Victoria Railway, The". Online Plaque Guide. Ontario Heritage Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
12. "The Victoria Railway". Ontario's Historical Plaques. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
13. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census
14. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. July 5, 2013. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
15. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. February 21, 2017. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
16. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. March 30, 2011. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
17. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. February 17, 2012.
18. McMurtrie, Jeffrey (2008). "Algonquin Provincial Park and the Haliburton Highlands". Wikimedia Commons. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2010-07-28.

• Dobrzensky, Leopolda (1985). Fragments of a Dream: Pioneering in Dysart Township and Haliburton Village. Municipality of Dysart. ISBN 978-0-9692348-0-7. OCLC 13861930.
• Ballantine, Thomas; Hill, Stephen (2008). Haliburton: A History In Pictures. Haliburton Highlands Museum. ISBN 978-0-9696480-2-4. OCLC 503058634.

External links

• Official website