Sarnia, Ontario (1871 census)
Sarnia was a census subdivision in Ontario, recorded in the 1871 Census of Canada with a population of 3,438. The community is grounded to Wikidata Q115262762. The administrative centroid was at approximately 42.965°N, 82.323°W.
Population
In 1871, Sarnia had a population of 3,438: 1,806 male and 1,632 female residents. Population density was 44.0 people per square mile.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1851 | 1,384 |
| 1861 | 1,560 |
| 1871 | 3,438 |
| 1881 | 3,583 |
| 1891 | 2,937 |
| 1901 | 2,632 |
| 1911 | 2,663 |
| 1921 | 2,583 |
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 Point Edward, Village, 1881 (0.4% of this CSD's polygon).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1871
In the 1871 census, Sarnia shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1871
The 1871 census recorded 55 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 5 categories. Tables below are collapsible.
Population & families (10 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of families | 643 |
| Number of females | 1,632 |
| Number of males | 1,806 |
| Number of married females | 551 |
| Number of married males | 552 |
| Number of married persons | 1,103 |
| Number of widowed females | 68 |
| Number of widowed males | 34 |
| Number of widowed persons | 102 |
| Total population | 3,438 |
Age structure (3 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of single females under 18 | 1,013 |
| Number of single males under 18 | 1,220 |
| Number of single persons under 18 | 2,233 |
Buildings & housing (4 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of houses under construction | 6 |
| Number of inhabited houses | 639 |
| Number of occupied houses | 639 |
| Number of uninhabited houses | 10 |
Agriculture (13 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| BAR BU | 12,483 |
| BWT BU | 149 |
| CRN BU | 2,702 |
| HAY AC | 3,216 |
| HAY TONS | 3,785 |
| OAT BU | 48,543 |
| PEA BU | 6,806 |
| POT AC | 290 |
| POT BU | 23,827 |
| RYE BU | 91 |
| Total area (acres) | 47,409 |
| WHT SP BU | 3,807 |
| WHT WTR BU | 5,046 |
Other recorded variables (25 variables)
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| ACRES | 905 |
| AREA | 47,409 |
| BEING BUILT | 6 |
| BEN BU | 246 |
| CD | 4 |
| CSD | 6 |
| FAMILIES | 643 |
| FEMALE | 1,632 |
| GRA BU | 52 |
| HOUSES OCCUPIED | 639 |
| INHABITED | 639 |
| MALE | 1,806 |
| MARRIED F | 551 |
| MARRIED M | 552 |
| MARRIED TOTAL | 1,103 |
| POPULATION | 3,438 |
| ROOT BU | 5,380 |
| SINGLE F | 1,013 |
| SINGLE M | 1,220 |
| SINGLE TOTAL | 2,233 |
| TUR BU | 4,008 |
| UNINHABITED | 10 |
| WIDOWED F | 68 |
| WIDOWED M | 34 |
| WIDOWED TOTAL | 102 |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
ON004006— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON122008— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: Q115262762
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). "Sarnia, Ontario (1871 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/sarnia-on004006-1871/.