The area was originally settled in 1792 as part of the historic
Glengarry County in which many
Scottish emigrants settled from all over the
Scottish Highlands due to the
Highland Clearances. This first wave of heavy migration lasted till 1816, emigration still continued afterwards into the early 20th century but in a slower pace. Many of these migrants came from the
Inverness-shire area of
Scotland specifically.
Canadian Gaelic /
Scottish Gaelic has been a spoken language in the area for over four centuries [1792?]. Kenyon, which was part of
Charlottenburgh Township until 1798, was named for British judge and politician
Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon, and Lochiel, which was part of
Lancaster Township until 1818, was named for the Lochiels of
Clan Cameron. Alexandria and its nucleus ''Priest's Mill'', built in 1819, were named for the Catholic priest
Alexander Macdonell, who resided at St. Raphael's and later became the first bishop of Kingston. Development in the region was significantly spurred by the development of a railway link between
Ottawa and
Montreal in the early 1880s. Maxville, Alexandria and Glen Robertson, in particular, became key railway hubs for farmers in the area. Maxville was first incorporated as a village separate from Kenyon Township in 1892, and Alexandria was separated from Lochiel Township in the early 1900s. The township of North Glengarry was established on January 1, 1998, with the amalgamation of the former townships of
Kenyon and
Lochiel, along with the village of
Maxville and the town of
Alexandria. == Demographics ==