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The Early Mecklenburg/Midland District of Upper Canada

At the close of the American Revolution, the colony of Quebec included land to the west that would later become Upper Canada. Soon thereafter, in 1788, four districts were created from this new territory: Hesse, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg and Nassau. In 1791, the colony of Quebec was divided into the two provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, with the Ottawa River being the dividing mark. The German names of the districts were abolished in 1792, and they were renamed: Western, Eastern, Midland and Home districts.

The original Mecklenburg, or Midland, District stretched from the Gananoque River to the Trent River, and was composed of the current counties of Frontenac, Lennox & Addington and Prince Edward, and parts of Hastings, Lanark, Leeds & Grenville, Renfrew and the District of Nipissing. The northern section of the Midland District was designated Indian Lands.

These original four districts were further divided in 1798, with the addition of the Johnstown District, the London District, the Newcastle District and the Niagara District. At the same time, all the district boundaries were re-drawn. Two years later, the first counties were created within those new boundary lines.

The revised Midland District now consisted of the current counties of Frontenac, Lennox & Addington, Hastings and Prince Edward, and parts of the current County of Renfrew and the current District of Nipissing (then Indian Lands).

As time passed, the Midland District began to shrink. In 1833-34, Prince Edward split off to form its own district; in 1838-39, Hastings County separated to form the Victoria District.

The table below shows the books dealing with the early years of the Mecklenburg / Midland District and the areas which are covered in each.