Chatham, Ontario (1871 census)
Chatham was a census subdivision in Ontario, recorded in the 1871 Census of Canada with a population of 5,036. The administrative centroid was at approximately 42.539°N, 82.258°W.
Population
In 1871, Chatham had a population of 5,036: 2,681 male and 2,355 female residents. Population density was 32.4 people per square mile.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 5,036 |
| 1881 | 5,907 |
| 1891 | 6,150 |
| 1901 | 6,049 |
| 1911 | 5,830 |
| 1921 | 5,766 |
Cross-year identity established by spatial polygon overlap (SAME_AS chains across the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary files).
Boundary continuity (non-identical overlaps)
Spatial polygon overlaps with adjacent census years where the boundary shifted enough that the SAME_AS chain didn't merge them. These show where the territory came from and went to even when it isn't tracked as the same persistent place.
Later boundary forms
- In a later year, this CSD contained Wallaceburg, T-V, 1881 (0.7% of this CSD's polygon).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1871
In the 1871 census, Chatham shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1871
The 1871 census recorded 57 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 5 categories. Tables below are collapsible.
Population & families (10 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of families | 963 |
| Number of females | 2,355 |
| Number of males | 2,681 |
| Number of married females | 845 |
| Number of married males | 853 |
| Number of married persons | 1,698 |
| Number of widowed females | 80 |
| Number of widowed males | 74 |
| Number of widowed persons | 154 |
| Total population | 5,036 |
Age structure (3 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of single females under 18 | 1,430 |
| Number of single males under 18 | 1,754 |
| Number of single persons under 18 | 3,184 |
Buildings & housing (5 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of dwellings that are temporary shanties | 2 |
| Number of houses under construction | 3 |
| Number of inhabited houses | 946 |
| Number of occupied houses | 948 |
| Number of uninhabited houses | 16 |
Agriculture (13 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| BAR BU | 34,041 |
| BWT BU | 477 |
| CRN BU | 43,725 |
| HAY AC | 3,536 |
| HAY TONS | 4,364 |
| OAT BU | 68,624 |
| PEA BU | 11,680 |
| POT AC | 451 |
| POT BU | 42,084 |
| RYE BU | 154 |
| Total area (acres) | 92,310 |
| WHT SP BU | 1,538 |
| WHT WTR BU | 55,588 |
Other recorded variables (26 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| ACRES | 3,735 |
| AREA | 92,310 |
| BEING BUILT | 3 |
| BEN BU | 617 |
| CD | 2 |
| CSD | 6 |
| FAMILIES | 963 |
| FEMALE | 2,355 |
| GRA BU | 408 |
| HOUSES OCCUPIED | 948 |
| INHABITED | 946 |
| MALE | 2,681 |
| MARRIED F | 845 |
| MARRIED M | 853 |
| MARRIED TOTAL | 1,698 |
| POPULATION | 5,036 |
| ROOT BU | 3,730 |
| SHANTIES | 2 |
| SINGLE F | 1,430 |
| SINGLE M | 1,754 |
| SINGLE TOTAL | 3,184 |
| TUR BU | 2,779 |
| UNINHABITED | 16 |
| WIDOWED F | 80 |
| WIDOWED M | 74 |
| WIDOWED TOTAL | 154 |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
ON002006— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON121002— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: not yet grounded. This page covers a place whose persistent identity has not yet been linked to a Wikidata entity. Identification is via TCP UID and spatial polygon only.
Sources
Census tabulations from the 1871 Census of Canada, transcribed and georeferenced by the Canadian Peoples / TCP project, hosted at the HGIS Lab, University of Saskatchewan. Persistent place identity computed from spatial-overlap chains across all available census years (1851–1921). Identity grounding to Wikidata performed via the HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph project's MCP-assisted disambiguation pipeline. See the About / Methodology page for the full data pipeline.
Cite this page
Clifford, J. (2026). "Chatham, Ontario (1871 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/chatham-on002006-1871/.