Brighton, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Brighton is a town in Northumberland County, Ontario
, Canada
, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) east of Toronto
and 100 km (62 mi) west of Kingston
. It is intersected by both Highway 401
and the former Highway 2
. It is on the West end of the Bay of Quinte
on the entrance of the Murray Canal
.
Brighton was primarily an agricultural community, specializing in the farming of apples and production of new apple types. However, in recent years, many of the original orchards in the area have been partially removed, to make way for the steadily growing population, and more profitable agricultural produce, such as: wheat, corn and soybeans. In late September, Brighton is host to Applefest
, its largest yearly festival.
The Municipality of Brighton (an amalgamation of the former Town of Brighton and Brighton Township) is home to approximately 10,200 inhabitants, with a higher than average percentage of those retired. This is normal, as the quiet, clean and friendly atmosphere of many smaller towns near lake Ontario tend to draw the elderly as popular places for retirement living. Many small hamlets surround the town, including Codrington, Carman, Hilton, Spring Valley and Smithfield.
Presqu'ile Provincial Park
, just south of the town, is one of Brighton's most popular attractions. The park is noted for birdwatching
and other nature-oriented activities.
opened in 1889.
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 3965 (total dwellings: 4328)
Mother tongue:
Northumberland County, Ontario
Northumberland County is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in central Ontario, Canada. It is located east of Durham County , west of Hastings, southeast of Kawartha Lakes and south of Peterborough County. The county seat is Cobourg...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) east of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and 100 km (62 mi) west of Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
. It is intersected by both Highway 401
Highway 401 (Ontario)
King's Highway 401, also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway and colloquially as the four-oh-one, is a 400-Series Highway in the Canadian province of Ontario stretching from Windsor to the Quebec border...
and the former Highway 2
Highway 2 (Ontario)
King's Highway 2, usually referred to simply as Highway 2 is a provincially maintained highway in Ontario. Once the primary east–west route across the southern end of the province, Highway 2 became mostly redundant in the 1960s following the completion of Highway 401, which more or less...
. It is on the West end of the Bay of Quinte
Bay of Quinte
The Bay of Quinte is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
on the entrance of the Murray Canal
Murray Canal
The Murray Canal is a canal in the Municipalities of Quinte West and Brighton, Ontario, Canada, and runs from the western end of the Bay of Quinte to Presqu’ile Bay which opens into Lake Ontario. It is approximately in length...
.
Brighton was primarily an agricultural community, specializing in the farming of apples and production of new apple types. However, in recent years, many of the original orchards in the area have been partially removed, to make way for the steadily growing population, and more profitable agricultural produce, such as: wheat, corn and soybeans. In late September, Brighton is host to Applefest
Brighton Applefest
Brighton's Applefest was created in 1975 by the merchants of Brighton, Ontario to promote the Brighton area, and the apple-based culture around it. It is now Brighton's largest yearly event, taking place annually during the last week of September. Now approaching its 35th year, it draws...
, its largest yearly festival.
The Municipality of Brighton (an amalgamation of the former Town of Brighton and Brighton Township) is home to approximately 10,200 inhabitants, with a higher than average percentage of those retired. This is normal, as the quiet, clean and friendly atmosphere of many smaller towns near lake Ontario tend to draw the elderly as popular places for retirement living. Many small hamlets surround the town, including Codrington, Carman, Hilton, Spring Valley and Smithfield.
Presqu'ile Provincial Park
Presqu'ile Provincial Park
Presqu'ile Provincial Park is a park in southeastern Northumberland County on the north shore of Lake Ontario near the town of Brighton in Ontario, Canada. The park occupies an area of ....
, just south of the town, is one of Brighton's most popular attractions. The park is noted for birdwatching
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
and other nature-oriented activities.
Founding
Some light controversy extends to the original founders of the town in the mid-19th century. Although there is a monument commemorating the founding of Brighton to the surnamed Simpson families of the area, there is a great deal of counter-evidence pointing to the presence of the Scottish Thayer settlers in the area for some years before the arrival of the Simpsons. The Thayers, it is said, were harvesting apples from the fertile soil around the Brighton area well before the Simpsons had even arrived. Descendants of these families live in the town to this day. The original Simpson house, is located on 61 Simpson Street, over 150 years old.The artificial island area of Brighton
Part of the current Municipality of Brighton is on a separate artificial island. This is a consequence of the borders chosen when the Township of Brighton was created in 1851, and the excavation of the Murray Canal across the historic Isthmus of Murray. The Murray CanalMurray Canal
The Murray Canal is a canal in the Municipalities of Quinte West and Brighton, Ontario, Canada, and runs from the western end of the Bay of Quinte to Presqu’ile Bay which opens into Lake Ontario. It is approximately in length...
opened in 1889.
Demographics
Population trend:- Population in 2006: 10,253 (2001 to 2006 population change: 8.5 %)
- Population in 2001: 9,449
- Population in 1996:
- Brighton (town): 4584
- Brighton (township): 4438
- Population in 1991:
- Brighton (town): 4366
- Brighton (township): 4115
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 3965 (total dwellings: 4328)
Mother tongue:
- English as first language: 92.2 %
- French as first language: 2.0 %
- English and French as first language: 0 %
- Other as first language: 5.8 %
Notable residents
- Eddie HaywardEddie HaywardEdward "Eddie" C. Hayward was a Canadian-born trainer in American Thoroughbred horse racing best known for winning the 1953 Kentucky Derby in which his colt Dark Star defeated the great Native Dancer.-Racing career:...
, racehorse trainerHorse trainerIn horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
who won the Kentucky DerbyKentucky DerbyThe Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
. - Mark KelloggMark Kellogg (reporter)Mark Kellogg was a newspaper reporter killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Kellogg rode with George Armstrong Custer during the battle and was evidently one of the first men killed by the Sioux and Cheyenne. His dispatches were the only press coverage of Custer and his men in the days...
, Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
correspondent killed at the Battle of the Little BighornBattle of the Little BighornThe Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
. - William Edgar Raney, KC - Lawyer, Politician, Ontario Attorney General and eventually judge on the Ontario Supreme Court.
- Gail Vaz-OxladeGail Vaz-OxladeGail Vaz-Oxlade is a Canadian financial writer and television personality who lives in Brighton, Ontario, Canada. Vaz-Oxlade hosts the Canadian television series Til Debt Do Us Part and Princess. Vaz-Oxlade is also a regular columnist for Yahoo! Canada Finance...
, financial writer and television personality. Host of the Slice series' Til Debt Do Us PartTil Debt Do Us PartTil Debt Do Us Part is a Canadian television series produced by Frantic Films for Slice in Canada, Zone Reality in the United Kingdom and AmericanLife TV Network and CNBC in the USA. It is hosted by Gail Vaz-Oxlade, who each week visits a couple who are in debt and having relationship troubles...
and Princess.