Ontario County was the name of two historic counties in the Canadian province of Ontario. Ontario County (1792–1800) The original Ontario County, located in the Midland District, was constituted in 1792 as an electoral district for the new Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada: In 1798, the Parliament of Upper Canada dissolved the county, and redistributed its territory to the following electoral counties and townships, effective at the beginning of 1800: Ontario County (1852–1973) On January 1, 1852 the old County of York was divided into three counties (York, Ontario and Peel); however they remained united. On January 1, 1854 Ontario County separated and became its own independent county, with the support of Peter Perry of Whitby. The population in 1854 was 30,000 and the first County Warden was Thomas N. Gibbs. It was replaced by the Regional Municipality of Durham effective January 1, 1974. Original townships Brock, area Surveyed in 1817. Community centres: Cannington, Vroomanton, Pinedale, Sunderland, Wick. Mara, area . Surveyed in part in 1820; the survey was completed in 1836. The Township might have been named in honour of Gertrud Elisabeth Mara, or for the Spanish word for sea. Community centres were: Gamebridge, Brechin, Atherley, Udney and Rathburn. Pickering, area . Opened in 1792 and first called Edinburgh it was renamed after the English town in Yorkshire. Community centres: Pickering, Dunbarton, Green River, Balsam, Claremont, Brougham, Altona. Rama, area . Opened in 1820. Rama is the Spanish name for the branch of a tree. Surveyed in 1834 and 1855. The area was first settled by retired British officers, but they ran into difficulties with the Bank of Upper Canada. The Bank sold the land to the Indian Department and the Ojibwe First Nations at Orillia were removed to a village built for them in 1838. Community centres: Floral Park, Longford Mills, Cooper's Falls, Washago. Reach area Opened in 1809 and named after the village in Bedfordshire, England. Community centres: Port Perry, Manchester, Saintfield, Utica. Scott area . Opened in 1820. Believed to be named after Thomas Scott, Chief Justice of Upper Canada from 1806 to 1816. Community centres: Zephyr, Sandford, Leaskdale, Udora. Thorah, area Opened in 1820 and named form the Hebrew word signifying the inspired Law, the Pentateuch. Community centers: Beaverton. Uxbridge, area Opened in 1798 and named after the English town. Early settlers included Pennsylvania Quakers. New Yorkers settled in 1806. Community Centres: Uxbridge, Goodwood. Whitby,