Halton County, Ontario
Halton County (area 228,181 acres (923 km2)) is a former county in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is also one of the oldest counties in Canada.
Halton County is named after Major William Mathew Halton, a British Army officer who was appointed in 1805 as Secretary to the Upper Canada provincial Lieutenant-Governor Sir Francis Gore in England and spent little time in Canada during his posting (served two terms 1806-1811 and 1815-1816).
Settlers started to arrive in the area in the early 1780s. The south part was first settled by United Empire Loyalists, the northern part was settled mainly by immigrants from the British Isles. In 1788, the area became part of the Nassau District, which was renamed the Home District in 1792.
Along with Wentworth County, Halton County was created in 1816 as part of the Gore District, consisting of the townships of Trafalgar, Nelson, Flamborough, and Beverley, together with certain blocks of land on the Grand River and reserved lands to the rear of the townships of Blenheim and Blandford. In 1821, the county was expanded through the addition of the townships of Esquesing, Erin, Nassagaweya, Eramosa, and Garafraxa, together with certain church land.
In 1838, on the creation of Wellington District, the townships of Garafraxa, Nichol, Woolwich, Guelph, Waterloo, Wilmot, Dumfries, Puslinch, Erin and Eramosa were withdrawn from Halton and transferred to Waterloo County.
Upon the passage of the Act of Union 1840, for electoral purposes Halton became two ridings for electing members to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada:
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