Clifford, Ontario

Clifford
Unincorporated community
Clifford is located in Southern Ontario
Clifford
Clifford
Location in southern Ontario
Coordinates: 43°58′09″N 80°58′45″W / 43.9692°N 80.9792°W / 43.9692; -80.9792[1]
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
CountyWellington
MunicipalityMinto
Founded (as Minto Village)1855
Present Name1856
Incorporated (village)1873
Amalgamated1999
Named forClifford in West Yorkshire, England
Elevation
375 m (1,230 ft)
Population
 ([2])
 • Total800
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern Time Zone)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern Time Zone)
Postal codes in Canada
Area code(s)519, 226, 548

Clifford is an unincorporated community in the Town of Minto in Wellington County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.[1] It is on Ontario Highway 9 and Coon Creek, a stream in the Saugeen River drainage basin.

The village of Clifford was founded around 1855 as Minto Village.[3] After the opening of the post office in 1856, the settlement was renamed Clifford by the first postmaster Francis Brown after Clifford in West Yorkshire, England. Clifford was incorporated as a village in 1873. In 1999, Clifford was amalgamated with Palmerston, Harriston and Minto Township to create Minto.

The first telephones in the community were installed in 1890 by Bell Canada.[3] Wightman Telecom, based in Clifford and owned by the Wightman family, has owned and operated a communication system in Clifford since 1908, with a telephone system that was originally operated out of a kitchen in Howick Township. Wightman bought out Bell's operations in Clifford, Ayton and Neustadt in 1928. The firm continues to operate the system as of March 2016.[3][4]

On 17 March 2016 a 200-metre (660 ft) wide EF1 tornado touched down near the community.[5]

  1. ^ a b "Clifford". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  2. ^ Taken from Google Earth at geographic coordinates. Accessed 2016-03-17.
  3. ^ a b c Harrison, Clifford M (1978). "Two towns and a village". The Way It Was : A History of Minto Township. Township of Minto. pp. 114–120. OCLC 63015327. Retrieved 2016-03-17. Also OCLC 22093320.
  4. ^ "Who is Wightman Telecom?". Wightman Telecom. Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  5. ^ "Environment Canada confirms tornado touched down near Clifford Ont". 680 News. 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2016-03-17.