Southwold, Ontario

Southwold is a township in Elgin County, in Ontario, Canada located on the north shore of Lake Erie. It is a rich agricultural zone producing predominantly corn and soybeans.

History

Southwold was named in 1792 after Southwold in Suffolk, England. The municipality was incorporated in 1852.

Shedden's growth occoured when the Canada Southern Railway was built, bypassing Fingal. Later it was joined by the Pere Marquette railway, still further boosting Shedden's importance. Both railways are now defunct. Talbotville is situated at the intersection of highways 3 & 4, two of the oldest roads in the region.

Southwold was the site of the Shedden Massacre.

Economy

The township is home to the [http://www.greenlanegroup.com/ Green Lane Landfill] site, a large dump recently purchased by the City of Toronto. Waste from Toronto is expected to be shipped to the site in 2010. Southwold is also home of the Ford St. Thomas Assembly plant.

Demographics

According to the 2006 Canada Census, Southwold has a population of 4,724 people in 1,635 dwellings spread over 301.71 square kilometres.

Communities

*Fingal
*Iona
*Iona Station
*Paynes Mills
*Shedden
*Talbotville