Lucan Biddulph

Lucan Biddulph is an incorporated township in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It was formed on January 1, 1999, by amalgamating the Village of Lucan with Biddulph Township. The township had a population of 4,700 people in the Canada 2016 Census, up 8.3% from 4,388 people in 2011, and covers an area of 169.14 km2 of land within Middlesex County.[2]

Lucan Biddulph
Township (lower-tier)
Township of Lucan Biddulph
Lucan
Lucan Biddulph
Coordinates: 43°12′N 81°23′W
Country Canada
Province Ontario
CountyMiddlesex
FormedJanuary 1, 1999
Government
 • MayorCathy Burghardt-Jesson
 • Federal ridingLambton—Kent—Middlesex
 • Prov. ridingLambton—Kent—Middlesex
Area
 • Land169.14 km2 (65.31 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[1]
 • Total4,700
 • Density27.8/km2 (72/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal Code
N0M 2J0
Area code(s)519 and 226
Websitewww.lucanbiddulph.on.ca

Geography

Lucan Biddulph is an agricultural community with fertile soils used for growing crops and raising livestock. Many of the township's residents are employed in the agricultural sector.

Communities

Communities in the township include Lucan, Granton, Mooresville, Clandeboye, Elginfield, Whalen Corners, and Prospect Hill. The township administrative offices are located in Lucan.

History

Etymology

Comprising 40,000 acres (160 km2) of Middlesex County, the Township of Biddulph was surveyed by agents of the Canada Company in 1830. The township took its name from John Biddulph, one of the earliest directors of the Canada Company.[3]

Until its incorporation in 1872, the village of Lucan had been known as Marystown, named in tribute to the wife of John McDonald, who was the original land surveyor of the area. When a duplicate Marystown was found to have already registered with the Post Office, the name Lucan was put forth and accepted by the postal authorities. Lucan was named in tribute to Lord Lucan, a prominent landowner in Ireland.[4]

Settlement

Despite being more than 500 km (310 mi) to the North, in 1829 the area became a refuge for a group of free African Americans from Cincinnati, Ohio, who had been threatened by riots and job discrimination by white people in their city. A group of roughly 200 Black Americans were granted refuge and land by the Canada Company and duly set up a colony named Wilberforce. This was one of the earliest, if not the earliest, settlements connected with the American Colonization Society (which was established in 1816 to settle free African Americans in an African colony) in Upper Canada and/or West Africa) and was established before emancipation. The flight of Black refugees, escaped slaves from the South, northward into Canada beginning around this time was as part of the Underground Railroad.

Most of the Black Cincinnatians came from city life and did not adapt well to the harsh farming environment. They cleared large lots of land by logging and worked hard to sustain the colony, but much of the population declined through the 1840s as many of the original colonists moved on to larger, growing urban centres such as Detroit, Cleveland or Toronto to obtain wage-based employment. A few remained to work the land through subsequent generations.

The area was further logged and settled by white people in the 1840s and later, many from Ireland, some of whom purchased farmsteads from the departing Black settlers or new lots sold to them cheaply by the Canada Company. Nowadays fewer than 40 descendants of the ancestral Black inhabitants remain.[5]

By 1850, the majority of the township's landholders were Irish Catholics, many of whom had immigrated from farming lands in County Tipperary, Ireland.

Early history

An important railway route belonging to the Grand Trunk Railway opened in 1856, passing through the village. The village and surrounding township prospered as a result of quicker access to larger marketplaces, such as Toronto farther to the east, and new immigrants settling the area. Its post office was established the following year in 1857.[6]

Donnelly Massacre

Biddulph Township is known as the site of the brutal massacre on February 4, 1880 of five of the Black Donnellys, an immigrant Irish family caught up in a long-standing local feud. These events have been written about many times and is etched into the criminal history of rural Ontario; it is well known in Canada and nearby areas of the United States. Five members of a family were killed in two separate locations northwest of London, Ontario. Nobody has been convicted of the murders despite the subsequent trials which led to publicity (18). This crime is noted to be one of the most horrific crimes in Canadian history. Tours are available at the Donnelly’s home which is just south of Lucan. As of today, there are no relatives of the Donnellys living in the area (19).

Lucan Snowstorm

A record snowfall (aka "Snowmageddon") occurred between Dec. 4-8, 2010, affecting Huron and Middlesex counties. A total of 177 cm (68") of snow fell during a 102-hour period (it snowed on 98 of those hours).[7]

Baconfest

The festival celebrates bacon, motorcycles, and live music. Started in 2014 by a local business and the Township, the event has increased in attendance to over 30,000 people. It is held every second Saturday in July.

Operations

On May 11, 2017, Lucan, Ontario selected CH2M to provide operations and maintenance services for Lucan’s water system for the next five years. The water system is going to provide water to more than 4,500 residents in the township and Granton urban centers and rural properties. CH2M is dedicated to improving the quality of water (16). In 2017, Lucan, Ontario announced that the first phase of their Community Memorial Center makeover has received a grant for their licensed day care centres. The $1.5 million is from the Canada Ontario Early Learning and Child Care funding strategy. The money will be used to build a 9,000 square foot facility (17).

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±%
19964,166—    
20014,201+0.8%
20064,187−0.3%
20114,338+3.6%
20164,700+8.3%
[8][9][1]
Canada census – Lucan Biddulph community profile
2016 2011 2006
Population: 4,700 (+8.3% from 2011) 4,338 (+3.6% from 2006) 4,187 (-0.3% from 2001)
Land area: 169.14 km2 (65.31 sq mi) 169.15 km2 (65.31 sq mi) 169.15 km2 (65.31 sq mi)
Population density: 27.8/km2 (72/sq mi) 25.6/km2 (66/sq mi) 24.8/km2 (64/sq mi)
Median age: 39.6 (M: 39.2, F: 40.0) 38.9 (M: 38.6, F: 39.2) 37.3 (M: 37.0, F: 37.6)
Total private dwellings: 1,837 1,653 1,556
Median household income: $84,829 $62,152
References: 2016[10] 2011[9] 2006[11] earlier[12]

Populations prior to amalgamation (1999):

  • Population total in 1996: 4,166
    • Biddulph (township): 2,208
    • Lucan (village): 1,958
  • Population in 1991:
    • Biddulph (township): 2,196
    • Lucan (village): 1,847

Sports

Lucan is home to the Lucan Irish, a junior hockey team that plays in the Provincial Junior Hockey League. Lucan was the home of the Lucan-Ilderton Jets Senior AA hockey club, a member of the Western Ontario Athletic Association Senior Hockey League until they moved to Komoka, Ontario and became the Komoka Classics in 2011.

Lucan FC represents Lucan in Ontario Soccer Association play in the Elgin Middlesex Soccer Association.[13]

Alexander Noble Garrett, born on the homestead, lot 11, South Boundary, Biddulph, August 13, 1862, was an outstanding athlete who excelled at a number of different sports. In particular, he was the goalkeeper on the Canadian soccer teams that toured Britain in 1888 and 1891. Later he was the sports editor of the Toronto World newspaper for many years. His son Dudley Mark Garrett played football for the Toronto Argonauts, and grandson, Dudley Morine Garrett, played hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers. A.N. Garrett, died in Toronto January 17, 1941.

In 2018, the community was the winner of the Kraft Hockeyville competition, and hosted the first pre-season game of the year for the Toronto Maple Leafs versus the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday September 18, which also marked the on-ice debut of forward John Tavares as a member of the Maple Leafs.[14]

In 2018, PPG formally announced the completion of a COLOURFUL COMMUNITIES project in Lucan of Ontario. This project has helped to revitalize the Lucan Community Memorial Centre indoor hockey arena. The DULUX Paints stores provided all the paint used for this project (15).

See also

References
  1. "Census Profile". 2016 Census of Population. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  2. Canada, Government of Canada, Statistics. "Focus on Geography Series, 2016 Census - Census subdivision of Lucan Biddulph, TP (Ontario)". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  3. Raycraft Lewis, J: "The Birth of Biddulph", Sure an' this is Biddulph(1964)
  4. Raycraft Lewis, Jennie Lewis (1966). Sure an' this is Biddulph. p. 163. OCLC 37399.
  5. "2006 Community Profiles - Census Subdivision". 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
  6. Hamilton, William (1978). The Macmillan Book of Canadian Place Names. Toronto: Macmillan. p. 157. ISBN 0-7715-9754-1.
  7. Horkay, Alex (December 9, 2010). "Lucan takes record snowfall in stride". The Star. Toronto.
  8. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census
  9. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. July 5, 2013. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
  10. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. February 21, 2017. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  11. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. March 30, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
  12. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. February 17, 2012.
  13. "2018 Club Members". Elgin Middlesex Soccer Association. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  14. "Kadri knows Kraft Hockeyville Lucan all too well". SportsNet.

15 Canada: PPG completes colourful communities project at Lucan community memorial centre in Ontario. (2018, September 21). Mena Report. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A555179317/AONE?u=conestoga&sid=AONE&xid=54081763 16 CH2M selected to provide operations and maintenance services for Township of Lucan Biddulph. (2017, May 11). PR Newswire. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A491506141/AONE?u=conestoga&sid=AONE&xid=be829016 17 Exeter Times Advocate. (December 13, 2017). Lucan Biddulph to receive $1.5 million for day care centre. Exeter Times Advocate, 1. 18 Leeder, J. (2011). The Donnellys must die! Canadian Folk Music, 45(2), 19-22. 19 Mitchell, S. (2003, June 6). Black Donnelly’s morbid massacre site makes macabre tour. Toronto Star (Canada), 1.

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