King Twp. Miscellaneous

Click on the heading to see a map of Central Ontario
History of King Township
1. For centuries the First Nations lived in and traveled through
the area that became the Township of King. They used the
Toronto Carrying Place Trail, a major route along the Humber
and Holland Rivers between Lake Ontario and Lake Simcoe.
Later French explorers and fur traders also used the trail. In
the Toronto Purchase of 1788 the British crown purchased from
the Mississauga's 101,528 hectares of Lands north of Lake
Ontario which formed the future York County. Many of the
earliest land grants of 200 acre lots were to Quakers and
Pennsylvania and other United Empire Loyalists. The
population of 20 residents in 1800 grew to 160 in 1809,
394 in 1823, 5,574 by 1850 and by the 1871 census there
were 7,482 residents. Today, King's population is approxi-
mately 21,000.
( Source: pub25.bravenet.com/photocenter/album)
2. The Canada Company
The Canada Company was a large private chartered British
land development company, incorporated by an act of British
parliament on July 27, 1825, to aid the colonization of Upper
Canada. Canada Company assisted emigrants by providing good
ships, low fares, implements and tools, and inexpensive land.
Scottish novelist, John Galt, was the company's first Canadian
superintendent. The government of Upper Canada sold the
company 10,000 km² of land for 341 000 pounds. Slightly less
than half of the land that was purchased comprised what would
become the Huron Tract, located on the eastern shore of Lake
Huron, the remainder, located in other areas of Upper Canada,
became Clergy reserves under the control of the Clergy
Corporation. Galt selected Guelph, Ontario as the company's
headquarters. The company surveyed and subdivided this
massive area, built roads, mills, and schools and advertised it
to buyers in Europe. The company then assisted in the migration
of new settlers, bringing them to the area by means of a boat,
which the company also owned, on Lake Ontario.

The company's mismanagement and corruption, and its close
alliance with the Tory elites, known as the Family Compact, was
an important contributing factor to the Upper Canada Rebellion
in 1837. The company was dissolved on December 18, 1953.
(From Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia)

Note:
The 1878 atlas of York County states that Lots 15 to 20 on
Concession VII of King Township belonged originally to the Canada
Company.

Land agent’s offices sometimes helped settlers forward money
to relatives in the home country. These records should be
investigated as a source of genealogical information.

3. King Township Today

King (2006 population 19,487) is a township in York Region
north of Toronto, within the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario,
Canada. First settled 1802 / township incorporated 1850.
King features some of the most picturesque countryside in Ontario.
The rolling hills of the Oak Ridges Moraine are King's most
prominent geographical features. The Holland Marsh, considered
to be Ontario's "vegetable basket", is also located in King Township.
King is also known for its prestigious horse farms and cattle farms.
Though King Township is predominantly rural, most of its residents
are concentrated in the communities of King City, Nobleton, and
Schomberg.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)