Huntingdon County is an historical county in southwestern
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Canada. It is named after the town and county of the same name (
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...
,
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...
) in east central
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It is situated in the
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
South Shore region of
Montérégie
Montérégie () is an administrative region in the southwest part of Quebec. It includes the cities of Boucherville, Brossard, Châteauguay, Longueuil, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Vaudreuil-Dorion.
...
, one of the roughly 12 regions of Quebec. The county was bounded entirely on its south by the
Canada–US border (45° N for 88.75 km from 73°32′ W to 74°40′ W), along its northwestern flank by Lake St-Francis (Lac St-François) of the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...
to its most northern point on the river at 45°13′ N and 74°13′ W, to the east by
Saint-Jean County, with its easternmost point at 45°5.5' N and 73°31′ W (this point forms the junction of the borders of Châteauguay County, Napierville County and Saint-Jean County) and to the north from east to west by Napierville County, Châteauguay County, and Beauharnois County. On the other side of the Saint Lawrence River is Soulanges County, Quebec, the
Township of Lancaster and the
Township of Charlottenburgh in
Glengarry County
Glengarry County, an area covering , is a county in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is still inhabited by the descendants of 18th and early 19th-century Scottish Highland pioneer settlers from Lochaber, was historically a Gàidhealtachd commun ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, and the
Township of Cornwall in
Stormont County,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
.
Huntingdon County is the only county in the St Lawrence Valley to be entirely and totally divided into townships, of which there are 7. All these townships run in a straight line and have the Canada–US border as a common southern border. From east to west they are the
Township of Hemmingford, the
Township of Havelock, the
Franklin Township, the
Township of Hinchinbrooke, the
Township of Elgin, the
Township of Godmanchester, and the
Township of Dundee. The county seat,
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...
, located at 45°5′ N and 74°10′ W, straddles the border between Hinchinbrooke and Godmanchester. Except for Godmanchester, all the other townships have a community that takes the name of the township in which it is situated (Hemmingford, Havelock, Franklin, Hinchinbrooke, Elgin, Dundee).
A notable feature of Huntingdon County is the presence of the Saint Regis
Akwesasne
The Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne ( ; ; ) is a Mohawk Nation (''Kanienʼkehá:ka'') territory that straddles the intersection of international (United States and Canada) borders and provincial (Ontario and Quebec) boundaries on both banks of the St ...
Mohawk Reserve at the westernmost point of the county in the Township of Dundee. That area of the Saint Lawrence, like many along its length, contains many small islands. The Reserve straddles the meeting point of the Quebec-Ontario-New York State borders at that point. The American side of the Reserve is
Franklin County, New York
Franklin County is a County (United States), county on the northern border of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. To the north across the Canada–United States border are the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, from east to ...
.
On 1 January 1982, the county was officially dissolved. Most of the County became part of the
MRC de Le Haut-Saint-Laurent except for a small section in the far east (The Township of Hemmingford and the
Village of Hemmingford) which became part of
MRC de Les Jardins-de-Napierville.
References
*
{{coord missing, Quebec
Former counties of Quebec
Populated places disestablished in 1982