North Glengarry

Communities

The township of North Glengarry comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communities:

• Kenyon Township: Apple Hill, Dominionville, Dunvegan, Greenfield, Maxville; Athol, Baltic Corners, Dornie, Fiskes Corners, Fassifern, Guaytown, Laggan, McCrimmon, St. Elmo, Stewarts Glen; Fairview, Skye
• Lochiel Township: Alexandria (population 3,287), Dalkeith, Glen Robertson, Glen Sandfield, Lochiel; Breadalbane, Brodie, Kirkhill, Lochinvar, Lorne, McCormick, Pine Grove

The township administrative offices are located in Alexandria.

Alexandria is served five or six times a day by the Montreal-Ottawa Via Rail trains which almost all stop at Alexandria station in each direction. Commuter buses provide daily services from Maxville and area to Ottawa-Gatineau. Maxville was served by Via Rail until October 2011.

File:Alexandria ON.JPG|Alexandria File:Apple Hill ON.JPG|Apple Hill File:Maxville ON 2.JPG|Maxville

History

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

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, North Glengarry had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 643.4 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

|1986 | |1991 | |1996 | |2001 |10589 |2006 |10635 |2011 |10251 |2016 |10109 |2021 |10119

Mother tongue (2021):

• English as first language: 56.8 %
• French as first language: 34.9 %
• English and French as first languages: 3.4 %
• Other as first language: 4.3 %

Culture

Maxville (population 853) hosts the annual Glengarry Highland Games, one of North America's largest festivals of Scottish culture, on the first long weekend in August. The Glengarry Highland Games include traditional Scottish events such as the caber toss, tug of war, and the sheaf toss.

Maxville hosts a country fair at the end of June that include a classic and new automobile show, homecraft prizes, Western performances, a holstein show including 4-H showmanship, a hunter horse and hunter pony show, a talent show, a midway, laser tag and a demolition derby.

Sport

The Alexandria Glens of the Central Canada Hockey League Tier 2 play at the Glengarry Sports Palace (Billy Gebbie Arena) in Alexandria. The Glens joined the new CCHL2 league in 2015. The Glens played in the Eastern Ontario Junior B Hockey League until the 2014-15 season.

The Glens won the 2007 EOJBHL Championship, defeating the Gatineau Mustangs in 7 games in the final. This marks the first time a team outside of the Metro Division of EOJBHL has won the Carson Trophy as league champions in over half a decade. This marks the Glens‘ first Junior "B" Championship.

The Glens won the 2008 EOJBHL Championship, defeating the Ottawa West Golden Knights in 6 games in the final. This marks the first time a team the St-Lawrence Division has won the Carson Trophy back to back as league champions. This was also the Glens‘ second Junior "B" Championship.

The Maxville Mustangs of the Eastern Ontario Junior C Hockey League used to play in Maxville.

References

References

1. J. A. MacDonell: ''A Sketch of the Life of the Honourable and Right Reverend Alexander MacDonell'', Alexandria ON 1890, [https://archive.org/details/cihm_09416/page/n43 p. 35], note
2. [http://library.cornwall.on.ca/local-hist/db/docs/Glengarry.pdf ''Main Street Glengarry County''] {{Webarchive. link. (2018-12-06 , p. 6, p. 13)
3. {{SCref. (2021)
4. "Population and dwelling count amendments, 2021 Census". Government of Canada - Statistics Canada.