Nelson, Ontario (1911 census)
Nelson was a census subdivision in Ontario, recorded in the 1911 Census of Canada with a population of 2,910. The administrative centroid was at approximately 43.407°N, 79.858°W.
Population
In 1911, Nelson had a population of 2,910: 1,572 male and 1,338 female residents. Population density was 37.9 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).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1911
In the 1911 census, Nelson shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1911
The 1911 census recorded 43 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 4 categories.
Population & families (1911). This community's record includes 49,114 area in acres, 2,910 total population, 1,572 males in the population, 1,338 females in the population, 934 single (never-married) males, 717 single (never-married) females, 631 families, 578 married males, 543 married females, 76.74 area in square miles, 76 widowed females, 50 widowed males, 37.92 population per square mile, 10 males with marital status not given, 2 females with marital status not given. 2,776 population in the previous census (1901 reference column included in 1911 V1T1). (Source: 1911 Census of Canada, V1T1; V1T2.)
Ethnic origin (1911). This community's record includes 1,688 persons of British origin (English), 516 persons of British origin (Irish), 361 persons of British origin (Scotch / Scottish), 137 persons of German origin, 21 persons of Dutch origin, 20 persons of British origin (other), 17 persons of French origin, 10 persons of Italian origin, 1 persons of Austro-Hungarian origin, 1 persons of Polish origin, 1 persons of Scandinavian origin. 63 persons recorded under the official census category "Indian"; corresponds to what is now described as Indigenous (First Nations; in northern enumerations also Inuit) origin. "Indian" was simultaneously a census category and the legal/administrative term under the Indian Act (1876). (Source: 1911 Census of Canada, V2T7.)
Religion (1911). This community's record includes 1,550 Methodists, 625 Anglicans (Church of England), 513 Presbyterians, 74 persons whose religion or origin is unspecified, 72 Baptists, 64 Roman Catholics, 18 adherents of various sects (residual category in 1911), 7 Lutherans, 3 Disciples of Christ, 3 Friends (Quakers), 2 Salvation Army adherents, 1 Christians (general / no denomination specified), 1 Congregationalists. (Source: 1911 Census of Canada, V2T2; V2T7.) The 1911 enumerator also recorded 13 persons recorded under the 1911 official census category "Pagans"; primarily applied to Indigenous adherents of traditional spiritual practices. The label reflects period Christian-normative framing and is preserved as the historical source category. — single-county tallies of limited cross-year comparability.
Buildings & housing (1911). This community's record includes 621 dwellings. (Source: 1911 Census of Canada, V1T2.)
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 1911, listed below by birth year. Each name links to that person's DCB entry.
| Name | Lifespan | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| JOHN GENNINGS CURTIS ADAMS | 1839–1922 | died here |
| Jean Newton McIlwraith | d. 1938 | died here |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
ON076003— 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 1911 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 (1911 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/nelson-on076003-1911/.