Peterborough, C, Ontario (1881 census)
Peterborough, C was a city in Ontario, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 6,812. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q776930. The administrative centroid was at approximately 44.305°N, 78.329°W.
Population
In 1881, Peterborough, C had a population of 6,812: 3,347 male and 3,465 female residents.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1851 | 2,191 |
| 1861 | 3,979 |
| 1871 | 4,611 |
| 1881 | 6,812 |
| 1911 | 18,360 |
| 1921 | 20,994 |
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.
Earlier boundary forms
- In an earlier year, this CSD contained Peterborough, C, 1871 (88.7% share).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1881
In the 1881 census, Peterborough, C shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1881
The 1881 census recorded 30 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 4 categories.
Population & families (1881). This community's record includes 6,812 total population, 3,465 females, 3,347 males, 2,174 married persons, 1,308 families, 1,092 married females, 1,082 married males, 309 widowed persons, 238 widowed females, 71 widowed males. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Age structure (1881). This community's record includes 4,329 single persons under 18, 2,194 single males under 18, 2,135 single females under 18. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Buildings & housing (1881). This community's record includes 1,279 inhabited houses, 1,279 occupied houses, 114 uninhabited houses, 11 houses under construction. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Agriculture (1881). This community's record includes 16,309 bushels of potatoes, 4,653 bushels of other root crops, 2,256 bushels of oats, 1,150 bushels of turnips, 277 bushels of peas and beans, 261 bushels of corn, 109 acres of potatoes, 94 bushels of spring wheat, 68 tons of hay, 52 acres of hay crops, 27 bushels of buckwheat, 20 bushels of rye, 7 acres of wheat. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V3T24.)
People with Dictionary of Canadian Biography entries
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography includes biographies of 4 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 |
|---|---|---|
| William Tassie | 1815–1886 | died here |
| Jean-François Jamot | 1828–1886 | died here |
| Sir Joseph Wesley Flavelle | 1858–1939 | born here |
| Jessie Knox Munro | 1861–1923 | died here |
Residents in 1881
The 1881 census residents page for this Census Subdivision lists 6,813 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:
ON126001— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON138017— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: Q776930
- Wikipedia (EN): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterborough,_Ontario
- Wikipédia (FR): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterborough_(Ontario)
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). "Peterborough, C, Ontario (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/peterborough-c-on126001-1881/.