Hastings Highlands is a municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario. Located in the northernmost portion of Hastings County, the municipality had a population of 4,078 in the 2016 Canadian census. Big Mink Lake is one of many lakes located in Hastings Highlands.

Communities

The municipality's administrative and commercial centre is the community of Maynooth, located at the junction of Highway 62 and Highway 127 north of Bancroft. The municipality also comprises the communities of Baptiste, Bell Rapids, Birds Creek, Centreview, Graphite, Greenview, Hickey Settlement, Hybla, Lake St. Peter, Maple Leaf, Maynooth Station, McAlpine Corners, McGarry Flats, Monteagle Valley, Musclow, Purdy, Scotch Bush, Scott Settlement and York River.

History

Maynooth Station was a railway station built in 1907 by the Central Ontario Railway to serve the Maynooth area. The railway was acquired by Canadian Northern Railway which later became part of the Canadian National Railway. There are a few residences near the station. This section of railway was abandoned in 1984. Maynooth Station was 15.83 rail miles north of Bancroft and 7.91 miles by rail, northward to Lake St. Peter, and 15.87 miles to end of track. The abandoned station is boarded up and fenced off. The track bed is now used as a hiking trail The current municipality of Hastings Highlands was incorporated on January 1, 2001, by amalgamating the former townships of Bangor, Wicklow and McClure, Herschel and Monteagle.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Hastings Highlands had a population of 4,385 living in 2,007 of its 3,529 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 4,078. With a land area of 966.58 km2, it had a population density of in 2021. Mother tongue:

Culture

Lake St. Peter's economy is primarily based on tourism. One of the OFSC snowmobile trails passes through the community. The lakes also bring tourism to the area in the summer. Currently the community supports one restaurant, two churches, Lake St. Peter Provincial Park, a general store and a post office.