History
The first boundaries of Hastings County were established 1792 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe. The southern boundary was the Bay of Quinte, the eastern boundary was Lennox County and the western boundary ran from the Trent River to the Ottawa River, in a triangular shape. The County consisted of Sidney, Thurlow, Rawdon, Huntingdon and Hungerford townships as well as the Mohawk Tract. The area was named for Francis Rawdon-Hastings.
Three new townships; Elzevir, Madoc and Marmora were created in 1821 and on Monday, October 1, 1821 the first Hastings County fair was held in Belleville . The largest prize paid was to Captain Daniel Ostrom of Sydney at $20 and Ruliff Purdy of Sidney received the most prizes totaling $106.50.
While in this time agriculture was the most important industry in Hastings County, by 1822 (when the Marmora Iron Works was approaching its peak production) mining was playing an increasingly more important role in the area's economy.
Prominent citizens of Hastings County and Ameliasburgh Township unsuccessfully petitioned the provincial government for district status during 1817, 1818, 1823 and 1825. After Prince Edward County successfully achieved its own government in 1831, Hastings County continued to send petitions throughout the 30s before finally achieving the status of a separate district in March 1837. Belleville was named the county's District Town.
From 1839 until 1849, Hastings County was renamed Victoria District after Queen Victoria. By 1841 the district had access to local courts but no local government was in place. On February 8, 1842 the Victoria District's first council met under warden William Hutton. During much of this time roads and bridges were the most important issues the council dealt with.
Edward Fidlar became the first warden of Hastings County with their first meeting on January 28, 1850. By this time the Hastings County Council was also interested in education and the building of the railroad.
On October 27, 1856 the first railroad train arrived in Belleville and by 1864 around 100 people were employed by the railroad.
In August 1866, discovery of gold at Eldorado, near Madoc, caused great excitement throughout Hastings County as people flooded to the area from all over North America. The railroads and 170 miles (270 km) of good gravel roads opened these areas to settlement by 1880.
In 1889 the Belleville Waterworks was created as a private company, which was then bought by the city of Belleville in 1889. In 1911, Hastings County was the first in the province to appoint a reforestation committee, which was instrumental in passing laws around county forests. Postal service began in the area in 1913.
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