Ernestown, Ontario (1881 census)
Ernestown was a census subdivision in Ontario, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 3,961. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q5394285. The administrative centroid was at approximately 44.266°N, 76.767°W.
Population
In 1881, Ernestown had a population of 3,961: 1,976 male and 1,985 female residents.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1851 | 5,111 |
| 1861 | 5,450 |
| 1871 | 4,233 |
| 1881 | 3,961 |
| 1891 | 3,597 |
| 1901 | 3,317 |
| 1911 | 3,031 |
| 1921 | 2,773 |
Cross-year identity established by spatial polygon overlap (SAME_AS chains across the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary files).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1881
In the 1881 census, Ernestown 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 3,961 total population, 1,985 females, 1,976 males, 1,493 married persons, 840 families, 749 married females, 744 married males, 184 widowed persons, 130 widowed females, 54 widowed males. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Age structure (1881). This community's record includes 2,284 single persons under 18, 1,178 single males under 18, 1,106 single females under 18. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Buildings & housing (1881). This community's record includes 840 occupied houses, 839 inhabited houses, 33 uninhabited houses, 10 houses under construction, 1 dwellings that are temporary shanties. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Agriculture (1881). This community's record includes 176,143 bushels of barley, 82,391 bushels of oats, 60,536 bushels of potatoes, 17,901 bushels of peas and beans, 17,305 bushels of corn, 12,370 bushels of buckwheat, 10,860 bushels of rye, 8,275 acres of hay crops, 7,934 tons of hay, 5,287 bushels of other root crops, 4,279 bushels of spring wheat, 2,303 bushels of winter wheat, 1,117 bushels of clover, timothy, or other grass seed, 1,106 acres of wheat, 776 bushels of turnips, 734 acres of potatoes. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V3T24.)
People with Dictionary of Canadian Biography entries
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography includes biographies of 2 people 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 |
|---|---|---|
| George Frederick Cameron | 1854–1885 | died here |
| Anson McKim | 1855–1917 | born here |
Residents in 1881
The 1881 census residents page for this Census Subdivision lists 3,960 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:
ON117004— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON125003— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: Q5394285
- Wikipedia (EN): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernestown_Township
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). "Ernestown, Ontario (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/ernestown-on117004-1881/.