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Robinson Settlement 1825, The

In an effort to alleviate poverty and unemployment in Ireland, the British government in 1825 sponsored a settlement of Irish emigrants in the Newcastle District of Upper Canada. Peter Robinson, later that province's Commissioner of Crown Lands, was appointed superintendent and in May, 2,024 persons sailed from Cork. A few settled elsewhere and disease thinned their numbers, but by September the remainder were gathered in temporary shelters on the site of Peterborough. Under Robinson's supervision, free rations were distributed until November 1826, cabins erected and 1,878 settlers successfully established on land in the Peterborough region.

Location

In Victoria Park, George Street, Peterborough

Region: Central Ontario

County/District: County of Peterborough

Municipality: City of Peterborough

Themes