File:Dufferin County, Ontario (21218890283).jpg

Dufferin County is a county and census division of the province of Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Orangeville, and the current Warden is Laura Ryan. The Current Chief Administrative Officer is Sonya Pritchard. Dufferin covers an area of 1,486.31 square kilometres (573.87 sq mi), and its population is 56,881 (2011).

It was originally organized as the "Provisional County of Dufferin", with preparatory work authorized by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1875 and the actual formation taking effect in 1881, being created from parts of the counties of Grey and Simcoe, on the north and east, and from the County of Wellington on the south and west.

The Village of Grand Valley was erected from East Luther in 1897, and the two municipalities amalgamated in 1995 to form the Township of East Luther Grand Valley, which was erected into the Town of Grand Valley in 2012.

The county gets its name from Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, who was Governor General of Canada between 1872-1878. Originally an agriculturally based economy, Dufferin's economy has diversified to include commercial and retail businesses, industries related to residential and commercial construction (building, supplies, aggregates, real estate) and manufacturing. A portion of Dufferin’s economy still depends on agriculture but tourism is becoming more important as the county takes a more positive role in attracting visitors.

Dufferin County is the highest plateau immediately west of Georgian Bay, and as such forms the watershed between the four lakes: Huron, Erie, Ontario and Simcoe. Four rivers — Saugeen, Grand, Credit and Nottawasaga — take their rise in Dufferin or in adjacent townships and drain through the county.

The county is a lofty table-land that is about 1,700 feet (518 m) above sea-level and about 1,400 feet (427 m) above the level of downtown Toronto. A continuation of the Caledon Mountains skirts the eastern side of the county. The highest peaks, however, are no match for the Blue Mountains north of Dufferin or the Caledon Mountains on the south.

The County of Dufferin, sits on the fringe of the Greater Toronto Area, about 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto. It is largely a rural county with three urban settlement areas, namely Grand Valley, Orangeville and Shelburne. The Town of Orangeville, the county seat, is situated on the southern border of the county and is the largest urban centre, with just over half the population. Although Orangeville dominates in terms of population, in area it is very small and geographically compact.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dufferin_County