Whitby Township is a geographic township and former municipality in what was Ontario County

Ontario County, Ontario

Ontario County was the name of two historic counties in the Canadian province of Ontario.The original Ontario County existed from 1792 to 1800 as part of the Eastern District, and consisted of the islands in the St. Lawrence River...

 (now Durham Region), Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, 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...

. It is now part of the Town of Whitby

Whitby, Ontario

Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...

.

The Township was established in as part of what was then York County

York County, Ontario

York County is a historic county in Upper Canada, Canada West, and the Canadian province of Ontario.York County was created in 1792 and was part of the jurisdiction of Home District of Upper Canada...

. Whitby Township was one of five townships along Lake Ontario named for towns in northeast England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 (York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

, Scarborough, Pickering

Pickering, North Yorkshire

Pickering is an ancient market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of the county of North Yorkshire, England, on the border of the North York Moors National Park. It sits at the foot of the Moors, overlooking the Vale of Pickering to the south...

, Whitby

Whitby

Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the...

 and Darlington

Darlington

Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...

). In 1852, the Township became part of the newly formed County of Ontario

Ontario County, Ontario

Ontario County was the name of two historic counties in the Canadian province of Ontario.The original Ontario County existed from 1792 to 1800 as part of the Eastern District, and consisted of the islands in the St. Lawrence River...

. In 1855, the Town of Whitby was incorporated as a separate municipality in the southern portion of the Township and in 1858, the Township of East Whitby

East Whitby Township, Ontario

East Whitby Township is a former municipality in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is now part of the City of Oshawa.Originally part of Whitby Township in what was then Ontario County, Ontario, East Whitby was created from the eastern portion of the township in 1858...

 was formed from the eastern portion of the municipality near Oshawa

Oshawa, Ontario

Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...

.

Whitby Township was mainly a rural municipality, but contained the communities of Brooklin

Brooklin, Ontario

Brooklin is a community in the Town of Whitby, Ontario, Canada. It is located,North of the urban area of Whitby,at the South junction of Ontario Highways 12 and 7....

, Ashburn

Ashburn, Ontario

Ashburn is a community in the town of Whitby, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada.Originally named Butler's Corners after settler Richard Butler in 1832, Ashburn was renamed after Ashbourne, Derbyshire in England when a post office was opened in 1852. The change in spelling was due to an error on the...

, Myrtle

Myrtle, Ontario

Myrtle is a community in the Town of Whitby, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada.Myrtle, located in what was Whitby Township, was first named Well's Corners. In 1856, the name of the community was changed to Wellwood and again to Myrtle in the 1860s...

 and Myrtle Station

Myrtle Station, Ontario

Myrtle Station is a community in the Town of Whitby, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada.Myrtle Station is located approximately one kilometre north of the community of Myrtle. In 1884, the Canadian Pacific Railway built a rail line between Toronto and Montreal through the area. A railway station was...

.

The Township was amalgamated with Whitby in 1968 to form an expanded Town of Whitby.