Wellington County is a county located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada and is part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The county, made up of two towns and five townships, is predominantly rural in nature. However many of the residents in the southern part of the county commute to urban areas such as Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, Brampton, Mississauga, Toronto and Hamilton for employment. The northern part of the county (comprising Minto, Mapleton, and Wellington North townships) is made up of mainly rural farming communities, except for a few larger towns such as Mount Forest and Arthur. According to the 2021 census, the population of the county was 241,026.
In 2018, the Warden of the county was Kelly Linton (mayor of Centre Wellington) and there were 14 Councillors. Police services are provided by the Ontario Provincial Police. Schools are operated by the Upper Grand District School Board and by the Wellington Catholic District School Board.
Subdivisions
The county is made up of seven lower-tier municipalities (in order of population):
Centre Wellington, Township of (population centres: Fergus, Elora) Guelph/Eramosa, Township of (population centre: Rockwood) Wellington North, Township of (population centres: Mount Forest, Arthur) Erin, Town of (population centre: Erin) Mapleton, Township of (population centre: Drayton) Minto, Town of (population centres: Palmerston, Harriston) Puslinch, Township of
The City of Guelph, although part of the Wellington census division, is a single-tier city, municipally independent of the county. The primary economy outside of the city consists of agriculture and aggregate mining. The county is a major supplier of sand and gravel for the western part of the Greater Toronto Area.
History
Evolution
In 1837, by an Act of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada, the District of Wellington was formed and a court house and jail in the town of Guelph were authorized. The District was named after England's Duke of Wellington and its territory formed the County of Waterloo for electoral purposes. The limestone county courthouse and jail in the castellated style was built in 1842-44 and was subsequently expanded.
In 1849, Wellington District was abolished, and Waterloo County remained for municipal and judicial purposes. The territory of the Bruce Peninsula became part of Waterloo in 1849, but was later withdrawn and transferred to Bruce County in 1851.
In January 1852, Waterloo County became the United Counties of Wellington, Waterloo and Grey. The new county of Waterloo was withdrawn in January 1853, and the remainder was renamed the United Counties of Wellington and Grey.
In January 1854, the United Counties was dissolved, and Wellington and Grey were separate counties for all purposes.
Guelph was incorporated as a City in 1879 and withdrawn from the county. Amaranth, East Garafraxa, East Luther and Orangeville were transferred to Dufferin County during the period 1874–1882.
The Wellington County Jail (in Late Gothic Revival Style) and the Governor's Residence (in Georgian style) at 74 Woolwich Street were built in 1911; they were designated by the city for "historic and architectural value" and as a National Historic Site in 1983. The property is now an Ontario Court of Justice.
Historic townships
By 1881, the county had settled into its present form, with the following townships and related towns and villages:
In 1999, seven new municipalities (Townships) were created within Wellington County through amalgamation.
From "poorhouse" to museum
In 1877, the county opened the Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge, or Poorhouse as it was called, on Wellington Road 18 between Fergus and Elora. Over the years, approximately 1500 deserving poor, including those who were destitute, old and infirm or suffering from disabilities were housed here. The sixty bed house for inmates was surrounded by a 30-acre "industrial" farm with a barn for livestock that produced some of the food for the 70 residents and the staff and also provided work for them. Others worked in the House itself. According to a 2009 report by the Toronto Star, "pauperism was considered a moral failing that could be erased through order and hard work". A hospital was added in 1892. A nearby cemetery has 271 plots for those who died. In 1947 the House was converted into the Wellington County Home for the Aged and in 1975 the building reopened as the Wellington County Museum and Archives.