Bothwell, Ontario

Bothwell may have been named after the Earl of Bothwell, third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, or simply after Bothwell, Scotland. == History ==

Long predating the arrival of Europeans, the lands now encompassing Bothwell are and have been the traditional territories of various Indigenous peoples, including the Odawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwe, and by the time of the written treaties, the Lunaapeew (Lenape). Founding Although some settlers arrived between 1837 and 1842, the land remained largely undeveloped until the arrival of the Great Western Railway in the 1850s. The route through the future township was surveyed in 1852, and the railway was completed in 1854. Settlers gradually arrived in the burgeoning settlement, and by the establishment of Zone Township in 1857, a number of local businesses had established themselves. For his part, Brown had cultivated a farm of several hundred acres, erected sawmills, and established a furniture factory. In January 2025, a fire destroyed a significant portion of the town's main commercial strip, resulting in approximately $3 million worth of damage. == Demographics ==

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Bothwell had a population of 908 living in 403 of its 422 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 856. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Ethnicity The most common ethnic or cultural origins reported in Bothwell in 2021 were Scottish (30.5%), English (29.9%), Irish (23.7%), German (16.4%), Canadian (15.8%), French (10.2%), Dutch (9.6%), First Nations (6.8%), Belgian (3.4%), and Welsh (2.8%). Religion In 2021, 65.5% of the population identified as Christian, with Catholics (12.4%) making up the largest denomination, followed by the United Church (11.3%), Anglicans (10.2%), Baptists (8.5%), and other denominations. 34.5% of the population reported no religious affiliation. Language English was the mother tongue of 93.9% of the population in 2021. This was followed by Spanish (1.1%), Plautdietsch (1.1%), German (0.6%), Dutch (0.6%), French (0.6%), and Maltese (0.6%). Of the official languages, 100% of the population reported knowing English and 1.1% French. == Notable People ==

• George Brown, Scottish Canadian journalist, politician, Father of Confederation, and founder of Bothwell • Brian Wiseman, former professional NHL ice hockey player and current NHL assistant coach whose career began with Bothwell Minor Hockey from 1975-1979 == See also ==