Petrolia, Town—Ville, Ontario (1881 census)
Petrolia, Town—Ville was a town in Ontario, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 3,465. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q3089341. The administrative centroid was at approximately 42.887°N, 82.141°W.
Population
In 1881, Petrolia, Town—Ville had a population of 3,465: 1,780 male and 1,685 female residents. Population density was 3454.3 people per square mile.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 2,651 |
| 1881 | 3,465 |
| 1891 | 4,357 |
| 1901 | 4,135 |
| 1911 | 3,518 |
| 1921 | 3,148 |
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, Petrolia, Town—Ville 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 | 667 |
| Number of families | 667 |
| Number of females | 1,685 |
| Number of males | 1,780 |
| Number of married females | 601 |
| Number of married males | 608 |
| Number of married persons | 1,209 |
| Number of widowed females | 51 |
| Number of widowed males | 33 |
| Number of widowed persons | 84 |
| POP TOT | 3,465 |
| Total population | 3,465 |
Age structure (3 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of single females under 18 | 1,033 |
| Number of single males under 18 | 1,139 |
| Number of single persons under 18 | 2,172 |
Buildings & housing (5 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of dwellings that are temporary shanties | 1 |
| Number of houses under construction | 15 |
| Number of inhabited houses | 658 |
| Number of occupied houses | 659 |
| Number of uninhabited houses | 13 |
Agriculture (29 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Acres of hay crops | 534 |
| Acres of potatoes | 74 |
| Acres of wheat | 412 |
| BAR BU | 1,267 |
| Bushels of barley produced in the past year | 1,267 |
| Bushels of buckwheat produced in the past year | 65 |
| Bushels of clover, timothy, or other grass seed produced in the past year | 10 |
| Bushels of corn produced in the past year | 2,022 |
| Bushels of oats produced in the past year | 21,805 |
| Bushels of other root crops produced in the past year | 3,792 |
| Bushels of peas and beans produced in the past year | 261 |
| Bushels of potatoes produced in the past year | 7,921 |
| Bushels of rye produced in the past year | 116 |
| Bushels of spring wheat produced in the past year | 807 |
| Bushels of turnips produced in the past year | 799 |
| Bushels of winter wheat produced in the past year | 6,145 |
| BWT BU | 65 |
| CRN BU | 2,022 |
| HAY AC | 534 |
| HAY TONS | 756 |
| OAT BU | 21,805 |
| PEA AND BEN BU | 261 |
| POT AC | 74 |
| POT BU | 7,921 |
| RYE BU | 116 |
| Tons of hay produced in the past year | 756 |
| WHT AC | 412 |
| WHT SP BU | 807 |
| WHT WTR BU | 6,145 |
Other recorded variables (20 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| C UNMD F | 1,033 |
| C UNMD M | 1,139 |
| C UNMD TOT | 2,172 |
| D OCC | 659 |
| FEMALE | 1,685 |
| GRA BU | 10 |
| H CON | 15 |
| H INHAB | 658 |
| H UNINH | 13 |
| MALE | 1,780 |
| MD F | 601 |
| MD M | 608 |
| MD TOT | 1,209 |
| NUMBER CD | 179 |
| OTHR ROOT BU | 3,792 |
| SHAN | 1 |
| TUR BU | 799 |
| WID F | 51 |
| WID M | 33 |
| WID TOT | 84 |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
ON179006— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON122014— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: Q3089341
- Wikipedia (EN): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrolia,_Ontario
- Wikipédia (FR): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrolia_(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). "Petrolia, Town—Ville, Ontario (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/petrolia-town-ville-on179006-1881/.