Nelson, Ontario (1881 census)
Nelson was a census subdivision in Ontario, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 3,340. The administrative centroid was at approximately 43.407°N, 79.858°W.
Population
In 1881, Nelson had a population of 3,340: 1,739 male and 1,601 female residents. Population density was 41.4 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 1881
In the 1881 census, Nelson shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1881
The 1881 census recorded 69 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 5 categories. Tables below are collapsible.
Population & families (12 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| FAM NO | 633 |
| Number of families | 633 |
| Number of females | 1,601 |
| Number of males | 1,739 |
| Number of married females | 538 |
| Number of married males | 527 |
| Number of married persons | 1,065 |
| Number of widowed females | 89 |
| Number of widowed males | 43 |
| Number of widowed persons | 132 |
| POP TOT | 3,340 |
| Total population | 3,340 |
Age structure (3 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of single females under 18 | 974 |
| Number of single males under 18 | 1,169 |
| Number of single persons under 18 | 2,143 |
Buildings & housing (5 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of dwellings that are temporary shanties | 1 |
| Number of houses under construction | 3 |
| Number of inhabited houses | 630 |
| Number of occupied houses | 631 |
| Number of uninhabited houses | 47 |
Agriculture (29 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Acres of hay crops | 5,150 |
| Acres of potatoes | 333 |
| Acres of wheat | 6,533 |
| BAR BU | 64,027 |
| Bushels of barley produced in the past year | 64,027 |
| Bushels of buckwheat produced in the past year | 703 |
| Bushels of clover, timothy, or other grass seed produced in the past year | 522 |
| Bushels of corn produced in the past year | 30,042 |
| Bushels of oats produced in the past year | 93,680 |
| Bushels of other root crops produced in the past year | 57,972 |
| Bushels of peas and beans produced in the past year | 17,112 |
| Bushels of potatoes produced in the past year | 32,585 |
| Bushels of rye produced in the past year | 3,552 |
| Bushels of spring wheat produced in the past year | 2,121 |
| Bushels of turnips produced in the past year | 136,692 |
| Bushels of winter wheat produced in the past year | 106,794 |
| BWT BU | 703 |
| CRN BU | 30,042 |
| HAY AC | 5,150 |
| HAY TONS | 5,818 |
| OAT BU | 93,680 |
| PEA AND BEN BU | 17,112 |
| POT AC | 333 |
| POT BU | 32,585 |
| RYE BU | 3,552 |
| Tons of hay produced in the past year | 5,818 |
| WHT AC | 6,533 |
| WHT SP BU | 2,121 |
| WHT WTR BU | 106,794 |
Other recorded variables (20 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| C UNMD F | 974 |
| C UNMD M | 1,169 |
| C UNMD TOT | 2,143 |
| D OCC | 631 |
| FEMALE | 1,601 |
| GRA BU | 522 |
| H CON | 3 |
| H INHAB | 630 |
| H UNINH | 47 |
| MALE | 1,739 |
| MD F | 538 |
| MD M | 527 |
| MD TOT | 1,065 |
| NUMBER CD | 150 |
| OTHR ROOT BU | 57,972 |
| SHAN | 1 |
| TUR BU | 136,692 |
| WID F | 89 |
| WID M | 43 |
| WID TOT | 132 |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
ON150001— 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 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). "Nelson, Ontario (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/nelson-on150001-1881/.