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Peterborough (Peterboro) is a city on the Otonabee River in (Central-Eastern) Southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres (78 mi) northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 in the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of 116 570. It presently ranks as the 33rd and smallest CMA in Canada. The current mayor of Peterborough is Paul Ayotte.

Peterborough is known as the gateway to Kawarthas, "cottage country", a large recreational region of the province. It is named in honour of Peter Robinson, an early Canadian politician who oversaw the first major immigration to the area. The city is the seat of Peterborough County and since 1983 has been sister city to Ann Arbor, Michigan.

History

Pre-European settlement era

First Nations groups followed retreating glaciers into the area 11,000 years ago. Woodland Natives inhabited the area circa 1000 BC to AD 1000, followed by Iroquois and Mississaugas circa 1740. Two of the more prominent sites surviving from this time are the petroglyphs at Petroglyphs Provincial Park and the Serpent Mounds. The petroglyphs are located northeast of Peterborough and are generally believed to have been carved by the Algonquin people between 900 and 1400 CE, although there are alternate theories which are not as widely held. The Serpent Mounds are located near Keene, approximately 30 km southeast of Peterborough in Otonabee-South Monaghan township, in an area first inhabited over 2000 years ago.

In 1615, Samuel de Champlain traveled through the area, coming down from Lake Chemong and portaging down a trail, which is approximated by present day Chemong Road, to the Otonabee River and stayed for a brief time near the present-day site of Bridgenorth, just north of Peterborough.

19th century

In 1818, Adam Scott settled on the west shore of the Otonabee River. The following year he began construction of a sawmill and gristmill, establishing the area as Scott's Plains. The mill was located at the foot of present day King Street and was powered by water from Jackson Creek.

1825 marked the arrival of 1,878 Irish immigrants from the city of Cork. In 1822, the British Parliament had approved an experimental emigration plan to transport poor Irish families to Upper Canada. The scheme was managed by Peter Robinson, at the time a politician in York (present-day Toronto). Scott's Plains was re-named Peterborough in his honour.

In 1845, Sandford Fleming, inventor of Standard Time and designer of Canada's first postage stamp, moved to the city to live with Dr. John Hutchison and his family, staying until 1847. Dr. John Hutchison was one of Peterborough's first resident doctors.

Peterborough was incorporated as a town in 1850 (population 2,191).

Beginning in the late 1850s, a substantial canoe building industry grew up in and around Peterborough. The Peterborough Canoe Company was founded in 1893, with the factory being built on the site of the original Adam Scott mill. By 1930, 25% of all employees in the boat building industry in Canada worked in the Peterborough area. The period from 1928-36 saw the establishment of the Johnson Motor Company/Outboard Marine (the makers of motorized boat engines) as an outgrowth of the original industry.

Peterborough would also see extensive industrial growth as the city was one of the first places in the country to begin generating hydro electrical power (even before the plants at Niagara Falls). Companies like Edison General Electric Company (later Canadian General Electric) and America Cereal Company (later to become Quaker Oats, and in 2001 PepsiCo, Inc.), opened to take advantage of this new cheap resource.

20th century and onwards

The first major events of the 20th Century in Peterborough occurred in 1904. The first occurrence was the village of Ashburnham, founded in 1859 and situated on the eastern shore of the Otonabee River, being annexed to Peterborough. This significantly increased the size of the growing city. This area of the city is still referred to as "East City" by local residents and is regarded as a somewhat separate entity to Peterborough proper. It has maintained an identity within the city and is one of the more well known neighbourhoods. The second occurrence was the completion of the Peterborough Lift Locks on July 9, eight years after construction was initially approved. To this day, many landmarks in Peterborough memorialize Richard Rogers, conceptual father of the Lift Locks, such as Rogers Cove on Little Lake and Rogers Street in the eastern part of the city.

In 1905, Peterborough was incorporated as a city on Dominion Day, with a population of about 14,300. The city's flag and coat of arms were adopted later in 1951.

In 1964In the 1970s, the Ontario Government helped sponsor the building of Peterborough Square with the aid of the Ontario Downtown Renewal Programme (ODRP). The mall was anchored by an Eaton's store until the collapse of the Eaton's chain of stores in the late 1990s, it now houses offices stores and a food court. The provincial government relocated the central office of the Ministry of Natural Resources to 300 Water Street, kitty corner from Peterborough Square. With two of Canada's top rated post secondary schools, Trent University and Fleming College, the region has a wealth of research and labour development opportunities. On top of all of the advantageous economic and market-access factors Peterborough is located in one of Canada's premier lake districts - the Kawarthas - providing sport, recreation and lifestyle opportunities. In 2008 a new regional hospital officially opened in Peterborough.

Geography

Peterborough is situated in South Eastern Ontario, on the northeastern edge of the Greater Golden Horseshoe and heart of the Kawartha Lakes region in Ontario. Peterborough lies in the St. Lawrence Lowlands ecoregion in Canada, just south of the Canadian Shield and about 35 kilometres north of Lake Ontario. The city is centred around a series of rapids in the Otonabee River, approximately halfway between where it begins at Lake Katchewanooka and where it empties into Rice Lake. The urban area of Peterborough completely surrounds the only lake on the Otonabee, Little Lake, and the Trent Canal runs along the eastern edge of the city, connecting Little Lake to a section of the Otonabee above the rapids. The city also lies in the Peterborough Drumlin field, of which, a number lie within city limits. The most notable drumlins in the area include Armour Hill and Tower Hill. Approximately 15 kilometres south of the city, runs the eastern section of the Oak Ridges Moraine.

By the Köppen Climate Classification, Peterborough falls under Dfb classification, which categorizes it as a Warm Summer Continental region. Peterborough's Hardiness Zone is 5a.

Demographics

As of the 2006 Canadian Census, there were 74 898 people and 33 042 dwellings (31 204 occupied) in the city. This is up from 71 446 people in 2001 for a growth rate of 4.8%. This is well below both Ontario's overall growth rate (6.8%) and Canada's growth rate (5.4%). The population density of the city is 1 282.6 people per square kilometre. It is anticipated that the city's population will grow to approximately 98,900 by 2017.

The population of Peterborough's CMA, which consists of the city of Peterborough as well as the surrounding townships of Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield, Douro-Dummer, Otonabee-South Monaghan and Cavan-Monaghan; stood at 116,570 in 2006. This positions it as the 33rd largest metropolitan area in Canada (14th in Ontario). The population is up from 110,876 in 2001 for a growth rate of 5.1%. This suggests a trend of greater growth outside of Peterborough city limits. Communities within Peterborough's CMA include Millbrook, Bridgenorth and Lakefield. The population density of Peterborough (CMA) averaged 85.4 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 12.6 people per square kilometre (32.6/sq mi) for the province.

In 2006, the resident population 14 years or younger made up 15.7% of the general population, while 18.2% were 65 or older. The median age for the CMA was 42.8, which is the fifth highest of Canada's thirty-three Census Metropolitan Areas, behind Trois-Rivières, Saguenay, Kelowna and Victoria.

Peterborough's population is predominantly Caucasian, with only 3.1% of the population identifying as Aboriginal and 2.7% identifying as a visible minority; made up of 0.6% South Asian, 0.6% Chinese, 0.5% Black, 0.1% Filipino, 0.2% Latin American and 0.2% Southeast Asian. Peterborough is also primarily an English speaking city, with 92.5% of the population speaking it as their mother tongue. French is spoken by 1.1% of the population, and other languages are spoken by 5.9% of the population.

Economy

Manufacturing although no longer the dominant local industry, is still one of the key sectors along with food processing, automotive supplies, electronics, aerospace and life sciences/biotechnology. General Electric and Quaker Oats maintain large operations in Peterborough, as well, the city is also a 'bedroom' community for workers commuting to Oshawa and East Toronto. The Peterborough Regional Health Cent

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