Nelson, Ontario (1871 census)
Nelson was a census subdivision in Ontario, recorded in the 1871 Census of Canada with a population of 4,619. The administrative centroid was at approximately 43.406°N, 79.857°W.
Population
In 1871, Nelson had a population of 4,619: 2,394 male and 2,225 female residents. Population density was 56.5 people per square mile.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1851 | 4,078 |
| 1861 | 4,559 |
| 1871 | 4,619 |
| 1881 | 3,340 |
| 1891 | 3,269 |
| 1901 | 2,776 |
| 1911 | 2,910 |
| 1921 | 3,356 |
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 Burlington, Village, 1881 (1.2% of this CSD's polygon).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1871
In the 1871 census, Nelson 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 | 824 |
| Number of females | 2,225 |
| Number of males | 2,394 |
| Number of married females | 716 |
| Number of married males | 726 |
| Number of married persons | 1,442 |
| Number of widowed females | 110 |
| Number of widowed males | 60 |
| Number of widowed persons | 170 |
| Total population | 4,619 |
Age structure (3 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of single females under 18 | 1,399 |
| Number of single males under 18 | 1,608 |
| Number of single persons under 18 | 3,007 |
Buildings & housing (5 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of dwellings that are temporary shanties | 7 |
| Number of houses under construction | 7 |
| Number of inhabited houses | 792 |
| Number of occupied houses | 799 |
| Number of uninhabited houses | 31 |
Agriculture (13 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| BAR BU | 39,987 |
| BWT BU | 1,880 |
| CRN BU | 18,536 |
| HAY AC | 6,444 |
| HAY TONS | 6,456 |
| OAT BU | 61,374 |
| PEA BU | 29,347 |
| POT AC | 404 |
| POT BU | 42,400 |
| RYE BU | 252 |
| Total area (acres) | 48,960 |
| WHT SP BU | 6,621 |
| WHT WTR BU | 58,602 |
Other recorded variables (26 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| ACRES | 5,067 |
| AREA | 48,960 |
| BEING BUILT | 7 |
| BEN BU | 69 |
| CD | 38 |
| CSD | 1 |
| FAMILIES | 824 |
| FEMALE | 2,225 |
| GRA BU | 282 |
| HOUSES OCCUPIED | 799 |
| INHABITED | 792 |
| MALE | 2,394 |
| MARRIED F | 716 |
| MARRIED M | 726 |
| MARRIED TOTAL | 1,442 |
| POPULATION | 4,619 |
| ROOT BU | 37,113 |
| SHANTIES | 7 |
| SINGLE F | 1,399 |
| SINGLE M | 1,608 |
| SINGLE TOTAL | 3,007 |
| TUR BU | 105,635 |
| UNINHABITED | 31 |
| WIDOWED F | 110 |
| WIDOWED M | 60 |
| WIDOWED TOTAL | 170 |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
ON038001— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON117003— 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). "Nelson, Ontario (1871 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/nelson-on038001-1871/.