Dunwich, Ontario (1881 census)
Dunwich was a census subdivision in Ontario, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 4,290. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q115261343. The administrative centroid was at approximately 42.669°N, 81.493°W.
Population
In 1881, Dunwich had a population of 4,290: 2,244 male and 2,046 female residents.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1851 | 1,948 |
| 1861 | 2,888 |
| 1871 | 3,731 |
| 1881 | 4,290 |
| 1891 | 3,663 |
| 1901 | 3,658 |
| 1911 | 3,198 |
| 1921 | 2,666 |
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 Dutton, VL, 1891 (0.8% of this CSD's polygon).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1881
In the 1881 census, Dunwich shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1881
The 1881 census recorded 34 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 4 categories.
Population & families (1881). This community's record includes 4,290 total population, 2,244 males, 2,046 females, 1,336 married persons, 829 families, 673 married males, 663 married females, 169 widowed persons, 111 widowed females, 58 widowed males. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Age structure (1881). This community's record includes 2,785 single persons under 18, 1,513 single males under 18, 1,272 single females under 18. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Buildings & housing (1881). This community's record includes 820 occupied houses, 819 inhabited houses, 26 uninhabited houses, 6 houses under construction, 1 dwellings that are temporary shanties. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Agriculture (1881). This community's record includes 139,442 bushels of winter wheat, 108,015 bushels of oats, 49,808 bushels of corn, 28,812 bushels of potatoes, 25,480 bushels of barley, 9,088 bushels of other root crops, 8,164 bushels of peas and beans, 7,243 acres of wheat, 6,130 tons of hay, 5,076 acres of hay crops, 2,597 bushels of turnips, 529 bushels of rye, 457 bushels of buckwheat, 368 bushels of clover, timothy, or other grass seed, 328 acres of potatoes, 25 bushels of spring wheat. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V3T24.)
People with Dictionary of Canadian Biography entries
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography includes biographies of 1 person connected to this place who were alive in 1881, listed below by birth year. Each name links to that person's DCB entry.
| Name | Lifespan | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| William Pearce | 1848–1930 | born here |
Residents in 1881
The 1881 census residents page for this Census Subdivision lists 4,290 individuals enumerated here, with name, age, sex, religion, ethnic origin, birthplace, and occupation. Source: TCP/Dillon 1881 Canadian Census deposit at Borealis.
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
ON164002— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON109004_1891— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: Q115261343
Sources
Census tabulations from the 1881 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). "Dunwich, Ontario (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/dunwich-on164002-1881/.