Origins and evolution In 1615,
Samuel de Champlain was one of the first western explorers who traveled through the area, coming down from
Lake Chemong and portaging down a trail, which is approximated by present-day Chemong Road, to the
Otonabee River and stayed for a brief time near the present-day site of
Bridgenorth, just north of Peterborough. The area was initially part of
Northumberland County, which was formed by proclamation of the first
Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada,
John Graves Simcoe in 1792, and defined by statute in 1798. In 1802, Northumberland was included in the
Newcastle District. In 1841, the northern part of the District was detached to form the
Colborne District, with the northern portion of Northumberland county made into the new County of Peterborough. It consisted of the following territory: The county was named in honor of
Col. Peter Robinson, who in 1825 brought 2,000 settlers from Ireland. The route taken was by way of
Port Hope,
Rice Lake and the
Otonabee River, the same route used by the first settlers that entered this region in 1818. The centre of the County was originally the courthouse, which is still considered an important historical site. In 1851, Peterborough County was divided into the counties of Peterborough and Victoria, which were united for municipal purposes as the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria. A
plebiscite was authorized in 1856 to facilitate the creation of a
provisional county council for Victoria, but, as the united counties council delayed conducting it, a further Act was passed in 1861 to compel its being held, following which the provisional council was formed. and its formal separation took place in 1863. Further townships were surveyed, thus extending the reach of the County northwards. In 1874, the townships of Bruton, Cardiff, Dysart, Dudley, Glamorgan, Guilford, Harburn, Harcourt, Minden, Monmouth, Snowden and Stanhope were withdrawn from the County and transferred to the new
Provisional County of Haliburton. After the transfer of the northern townships to Haliburton, the remainder of the County consisted of the following: The Town of Peterborough became a City in 1905, and was subsequently withdrawn from the County for municipal purposes. In 1974, as a result of the creation of the
Regional Municipality of Durham, the township of Cavan and the village of Millbrook were withdrawn from
Durham County, and the township of South Monaghan was withdrawn from
Northumberland County, to be transferred to Peterborough County.
Current municipalities As a consequence of the
Common Sense Revolution in Ontario, the County was restructured into the following municipalities during the period 1997-2004: • Township of
Asphodel-Norwood • Township of
Cavan-Monaghan • Township of
Douro-Dummer • Township of
Havelock-Belmont-Methuen • Township of
North Kawartha • Township of
Otonabee-South Monaghan • Township of
Selwyn • Municipality (Township) of
Trent Lakes Two
First Nations reserves are independent of county administration: •
Curve Lake First Nation 35 •
Hiawatha First Nation ==Demographics==