Clifford, Ontario

Unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada

43°58′09″N 80°58′45″W / 43.9692°N 80.9792°W / 43.9692; -80.9792^[1]CountryCanadaProvinceOntarioCountyWellingtonMunicipalityMintoFounded (as Minto Village)1855Present Name1856Incorporated (village)1873Amalgamated1999Named forClifford in West Yorkshire, EnglandElevation

375 m (1,230 ft)Population

(^[2])

• Total800Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern Time Zone) • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern Time Zone)Postal codes in Canada

N0G 1M0

Area code(s)519, 226, 548

Clifford is an unincorporated community in the Town of Minto in Wellington County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.^[1] It is on Ontario Highway 9 and Coon Creek, a stream in the Saugeen River drainage basin.

The village of Clifford was founded around 1855 as Minto Village.^[3] After the opening of the post office in 1856, the settlement was renamed Clifford by the first postmaster Francis Brown after Clifford in West Yorkshire, England. Clifford was incorporated as a village in 1873. In 1999, Clifford was amalgamated with Palmerston, Harriston and Minto Township to create Minto.

The first telephones in the community were installed in 1890 by Bell Canada.^[3] Wightman Telecom, based in Clifford and owned by the Wightman family, has owned and operated a communication system in Clifford since 1908, with a telephone system that was originally operated out of a kitchen in Howick Township. Wightman bought out Bell's operations in Clifford, Ayton and Neustadt in 1928. The firm continues to operate the system as of March 2016^[update].^[3]^[4]

On 17 March 2016 a 200-metre (660 ft) wide EF1 tornado touched down near the community.^[5]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Clifford had a population of 875 living in 377 of its 389 total private dwellings, a change of 6.3% from its 2016 population of 823. With a land area of 2.67 km² (1.03 sq mi), it had a population density of 327.7/km² (848.8/sq mi) in 2021.^[6]

Notable people

Athletes

John Kruspe (1944 – ), professional Canadian football player for the Montreal Alouettes, Ottawa Rough Riders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League

Musicians

Tara Dettman (???? – ), music artist and songwriter known for the song King Of My Heart, nominated in 2006 at the GMA Canada Covenant Awards

Politicians

Absalom Shade Allan (1843 – 1928), represented Wellington West in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1886 – 1894
Arnold Darroch (1898 – 1974), Reeve of Clifford from 1936 – 1944 and represented Wellington North in the House of Commons of Canada from 1949 – 1953
Hugh Elliott Eaglesham (1873 – 1938), member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 1934 – 1938
Edwin Tolton (1856 – 1917), represented Wellington North in the House of Commons of Canada from 1900 – 1904

References

^ ^a ^b "Clifford". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
^ Taken from Google Earth at geographic coordinates. Accessed 2016-03-17.
^ ^a ^b ^c Harrison, Clifford M (1978). "Two towns and a village". The Way It Was : A History of Minto Township. Township of Minto. pp. 114–120. OCLC 63015327. Retrieved 2016-03-17. Also OCLC 22093320.
^ "Who is Wightman Telecom?". Wightman Telecom. Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
^ "Environment Canada confirms tornado touched down near Clifford Ont". 680 News. 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved Sep 2, 2022.

Other map sources:

Map 4 (PDF) (Map). 1 : 700,000. Official road map of Ontario. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. 2014. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
Restructured municipalities - Ontario map #6 (Map). Restructuring Maps of Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 2006. Archived from the original on 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
"Township of Minto" (JPG). Canadian County Atlas Project. McGill University. 2001. Retrieved 2016-03-17.