In the Days of the Canada Company: The story of the settlement of the Huron Tract and a view of the social life of the period (Canadiana Reprint Series No. 45)Ex-library with pocket and usual markings except no spine label. Cover edges softened, rolled and a bit worn at head and tail of spine, some minor wear at corner tips, top corners turned a bit. Pages free of markings other those noted above. Binding tight. A very nice, sturdy reference copy.
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Author: Lizars, Robina & Kathleen MacFarlane Lizars
Publisher: MIKA
Illustrator:
In The Days of the Canada Company originally published in 1896, provides a detailed history of the Canada Company and its role in populating present-day Huron County. This is the story of the settlement of the Huron Tract and a detailed view of social life of the period with many anecdotes about specific individuals and families.
Huron was the French name given to the tribe of Indians living in the upper end of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. The tribe called themselves Ouendats, and the area they occupied Ounedake. What became the Huron Tract was not part of Ounedake. The tribe of Indians living in this region was known as the Attawandarons, or the Neutrals by the French. After the fur wars ended the victorious Iroquois tribes moved into this territory. It was the Mohawk and Chippewa branches of this tribe whom the British eventually purchased the land from in the early 1800’s. Lacking sufficient knowledge about the history of the area, the British decided to keep the original French term Huron as the name of both the lake and the tract of land. This tract of Crown land remained unsettled for many years. It was not until the 1820’s that a settlement campaign was developed by a group of British investors known as the Canada Company. This company was started by a remarkable man, John Galt, a businessman, author and adventurer, who to this day is considered the founder of Huron County.
When the Canada Company opened its first Canadian office in York [Toronto] during the early part of 1827, it soon had a substantial list of emigrants interested in purchasing land. Nevertheless, the Canada Company soon realized that an extensive advertising program would be needed to encourage more settlers to the area. There was very little chance of the company attracting migration from either British North America or from the United States. As a result, advertisements were placed in British and other European newspapers promoting the Huron Tract. It was from these advertisements that the majority of people were attracted into coming to what is now Huron County. The first emigrants came mostly from Germany, Ireland, the British Isles and Holland. This early migration of European settlers explains why there is such a diverse number of nationalities in Huron County today.
The County of Huron became an official county in 1841. Its borders extend along the central portion of the eastern shore of Lake Huron for almost sixty miles and its boundaries extend between fifteen and forty miles inland. There are twenty-six original municipalities in Huron County, (five towns, five villages, and sixteen townships), as well as a large number of smaller hamlets; however, municipal amalgamations and restructuring created nine municipalities in 2001.
Of its total 840,960 acres of land, 828,800 acres are classified by the Canada Land Inventory as "Land Use Capable for Agriculture". Of the 840,960 acres of land, 625,745 acres are improved farmland. John Galt, the founding member of the Canada Company, had originally envisioned the settlement of the Huron Tract as an agricultural experiment. Many descendants of the original 19th century settlers continue to farm and live in Huron County. - Publisher's blurb (current edition)
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