Wellington is an unincorporated place and community in Prince Edward County in easternOntario, Canada. It has a population of 1,860 and is estimated to grow by 2032 to double that figure. The community is on the shore of both Lake Ontario and West Lake in the southwest of the county, and is a geographic hub for exploring much of Prince Edward County's wine region. The renowned Sandbanks Beach, the northernmost of Sandbanks Provincial Park's beaches, lands in the Village of Wellington, where it is called Wellington Rotary Beach. It is separated from the Sandbanks Provincial Park by a canal through the beach to Wellington Harbour. Wellington Rotary Beach, completed in 2009, has a boat launch, boardwalk, picnic tables, sun shelter, washrooms, changerooms and an interpretive walkway.
History
One of Prince Edward County's earliest residents, Daniel Reynolds, first came to the area in the 18th century and settled in Wellington where his house remains today along Main Street. Reynolds was nicknamed Old Smoke by local First Nations, hence the community was first known as Smokeville. When a post office was established in the 1830s, the village was renamed Wellington after the Duke of Wellington.
Demographics
Arts and Culture
The Wellington Heritage Museum with exhibits on local history is located in the heart of the Village and was built in 1885 as a Quaker Meeting House. A key exhibit is the Douglas A. Crawford Canning Industry Collection, as more than 75 canning factories operated in Prince Edward County from 1882 to 1996.
The Wellington Dukes of the Ontario Junior Hockey League play at the Essroc Arena, part of the Wellington and District Community Centre. The Prince Edward County Minor Baseball Association plays all its games in Wellington, and the rep teams of the Quinte Royals Baseball Club play their homes games at the Wellington Field of Dreams. There is also a skating club and an equestrian centre in the community.
Infrastructure
Transportation
The main road in the community is County Road 33, known as the Loyalist Parkway. The road goes northwest to Trenton and east to Picton. The Prince Edward County Railway from Picton to Trenton ran through the community. It was opened in 1879, was extended to form the Central Ontario Railway in 1882, became part of the Canadian National Railway in 1923, and operated until 1985. The route through the community today forms a rail trail portion of the Millennium Trail.
Recreation
The Wellington and District Community Centre, which houses the Essroc Arena, a walking track, a number of conference rooms, and a full service kitchen and cafeteria.
A running track and a dual-purpose football/soccer playing field on the grounds of CML Snider School.
Wellington Harbour, a municipally run marina that opens onto Lake Ontario and West Lake.
, a 49 km multi-purpose recreational use trail passes right through the Village of Wellington.
Wellington Park, a waterfront park in the centre of the Village, which contains a popular, community-built playground, a pavilion, barbecue pits and picnic tables.
Golf course
Public Beach
Education
English language public elementary education from JK to Grade 8 is offered at C.M.L. Snider Public School in the Hastings & Prince Edward District School Board. Students must travel to nearby schools in Belleville for separate school French Immersion education, or to Picton for French-language public elementary education. Both Belleville and Quinte West are about 25 minutes by car north of Wellington. Picton is about 20 minutes east of Wellington. Secondary students travel to Prince Edward Collegiate in Picton for English language public secondary education, or to Bayside Secondary School in Quinte West for French Immersion public secondary education.
Media
Since 1992, the community has been served by the independent Wellington Times newspaper. The paper is available at over 50 retail locations across the County and has a circulation of approximately 4,000.
