Preamble: What was the Huron District?

Back to Preamble and Notes main page
Index of Townships
<-- Preamble: Why was this project undertaken? | Preamble: Map of the Huron District -->
Welcome Page | Huron County Library

On Friday, July 30, 1824 in a tavern in London, England, John Galt and several other businessmen, influenced by Dr. William "Tiger" Dunlop, formed the Canada Company. The goal of this company was to purchase large chunks of land and encourage settlement in the British Colony of Canada. The Canada Company soon organized itself and bought a 1,100,000 acre piece of land west of what was then the London District. This piece of land was called the Huron Tract, and the Canada Company quickly began settling it. They divided the Huron Tract into smaller Townships, surveyed the land and built roads and other infrastructure to support the many eager colonists.

As colonization began, the government considered the large Canada Company holding to be a part of the London District. However, as the population in the Huron Tract grew and the land was developed, the London District became too large. In 1841, the Huron Tract was formally separated from the London District and named the Huron District.

Of note to the 1842 Assessment Rolls, when the Huron District was formed in 1841, it was composed of all of the original Huron Tract Townships, with the exception of Bosanquet and Williams, which were transferred to the London District. Furthermore, the Huron District gained two Crown Land Townships: Ashfield and Wawanosh. Possibly because of error or misunderstanding, Williams Township is included in the 1842 Huron District Assessment Rolls. Also, in these same assessment rolls, Wawanosh Township was assessed as though it were a part of Ashfield (see the Notes: Transcription Notes page for more information).

Back to top


This web page was created by Patrick Rourke at the Goderich Branch Library during the summer of 1998, sponsored by Young Canada Works in Heritage Institutions.
Last Modified: Friday, August 28, 1998. To give feedback about this web site, email the Goderich Branch Library.
© 1998, Huron County Library