Victoria County, formally established in 1860, is comprised of the Townships of Bexley, Carden, Dalton, Eldon, Emily, Fenelon, Laxton, Digby, Longford, Manvers, Mariposa, Ops, Somerville, and Verulam. The town of Lindsay in Ops Township is the county seat. The County is bordered in the north by the Muskoka District, in the east by Haliburton and Peterborough Counties, in the south by Lake Scugog and the Regional Municipality of Durham, and in the west by Durham and Simcoe Counties. It is 2 169 km square in area. The land in Victoria County was first opened for settlement in 1821 and the first settlers were mainly Irish, both Protestant and Catholic, and Scottish Presbyterians. By 1880, lumbering was firmly established as the main industry in the county. Quickly the region was stripped of its forests, and it was not until the 1920's that an interest in reforestation developed. Today, Victoria County is a prime grain producing region. As well, chemical industries and tourism make up the present day economic picture of the county. (Taken from: Mika, Nick and Helma. _Places in Ontario, Part III_. Belleville: Mika Publishing Company, 1983.)