Editing Perth, Ontario (section)

==History==
[[File:Collection of Perth Views (HS85-10-20746).jpg|thumb|left|Perth in 1908]]
The town was established as a military settlement in 1816, shortly after the [[War of 1812]]. The settlement of Lanark County began in 1815. In that year "the Settlement forming on the Rideau River" as it was officially referred to (and which soon became known as "Perth Military Settlement") began to function under Military direction. The settlement was named Perth in honour of acting Governor-General Sir Gordon Drummond, whose ancestral home was [[Perthshire]].

Several townships were surveyed to facilitate the location of farms for military and other settlers; and the site of the future Town of Perth, which had been chosen as the headquarters of the Military Establishment was surveyed in 1816.<ref name="electricscotland.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/perth_area.htm|title=A History of the Perth Area|website=www.electricscotland.com}}</ref>

Many of the first settlers were military veterans on half pay, while others were military veterans from France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Scotland or Ireland who were offered land in return for their service. The [[William Bell (clergyman)|Reverend William Bell]], who arrived in June 1817, noted in his diaries that the settlement was more European than the Scottish settlement described to him. The first Scottish settlers came in 1816.<ref name="electricscotland.com"/> Many of the Scottish immigrants were [[stonemason]]s; their work can be seen in many area buildings and in the locks of the [[Rideau Canal]].

The military regime lasted until 1824, when settlers were granted municipal rights, i.e., 'the right of self-government'.<ref name="electricscotland.com"/> For many years Perth was the military, judicial, political and social capital, not only of the County of Lanark, but of the whole of the Ottawa Valley, north and west, until owing to the construction of the Rideau Canal, and the development of the lumber industry further north and west along the Ottawa, it finally was eclipsed by the town called "[[Bytown]]"—the present City of Ottawa, the Capital of the Dominion. But for many years the people of the town of Bytown, while it was still 'Bytown' had to come to Perth for their law and justice, for the law courts of the whole great district were located there.<ref name="electricscotland.com"/>

The first secretary/stores-keeper (and eventually postmaster and superintendent) of the settlement was Daniel Daverne, brought up from the Quarter Masters General Department in [[Kingston, Ontario]], to assume these positions.

Perth is home to a pioneer burial ground, St. Paul's United Church Cemetery, formerly The Old Methodist Burying Ground. This cemetery is at the south-east end of the Last Duel Park on Robinson Street.<ref>Neelin, James M. et al. The old Methodist burying ground in the town of Perth, Lanark County, Ontario. Ottawa Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1978.</ref> The Craig Street Cemetery, sometimes referred to as the "Old Burying Grounds" also contains many historic graves and saw use from 1820 to 1873.

The town's motto is "Pro Rege, Lege et Grege" ("For the King, the Law and the People"), which is shared with the City of Perth in Scotland{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}, and which was adopted in 1980 along with a new crest. The previous motto, "Festina lente sed certo" ("Make haste slowly but surely"), and original town crest appears on the uniforms of the Perth Citizen's Band. Founded in 1850, this band continues a tradition of community music with numerous concerts each season.

Near the town is the home of world [[show jumping]] champion [[Ian Millar]] and Millar Brooke Farm where his great horse [[Big Ben (horse)|Big Ben]] (1976–1999) is buried. The town has erected a bronze life-sized statue of the horse and Ian Millar, in Stewart Park, across from the Code's Mill building.

This town was the site of the last fatal [[duel]] in Upper Canada. [[Robert Lyon (duel)|Robert Lyon]], a law student, was killed on June 13, 1833, after fighting over a woman (Elizabeth Hughes) with a former friend, John Wilson. A local park is named "Last Duel Park" to commemorate the event.

In 1893, a {{convert|22000|lb|kg|adj=on}} [[cheese]] known as the 'Mammoth Cheese' was produced in Perth to be exhibited in Chicago at the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] to promote Canadian cheese around the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.urbanmarket.com/all-about-perth/past/mammoth.html |title=The Story of the Mammoth Cheese |first=Susan |last=McNichol|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922191220/http://www.urbanmarket.com/all-about-perth/past/mammoth.html |archive-date=September 22, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.town.perth.on.ca/files/%7B23F58C8F-0414-438E-8C41-7639D2FE5041%7DMAMMOTH%20CHEESE.pdf |title=The Mammoth Cheese |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192326/http://www.town.perth.on.ca/files/%7B23F58C8F-0414-438E-8C41-7639D2FE5041%7DMAMMOTH%20CHEESE.pdf |archive-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref><ref name="mammoth">{{cite web |title=See a history of the mammoth cheese |url=http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0022-0302/PIIS002203026090429X.pdf |author=G. M. Trout |publisher=Journal of Dairy Sciences, Vol. 43, No. 12 |pages=1871–1877}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
| title = Canadian Giants: Giant Cheeses |publisher=Library and Archives Canada
| access-date = February 6, 2011
| url = http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/cool/002027-2402-e.html}}</ref>

The Links O'Tay Golf course, walking distance from the downtown core, began its trek through golfing history in 1890 and was Canada's oldest continuously operating golf course until it was bought by Caivan, a suburban subdivision housing developer, in 2021. Caivan proposes to build 1,069 housing units on the golf course land and the company took its use to the  Ontario Land Tribunal in 2023.https://engage.perth.ca/caivan There is widespread concern among Perth citizens, and with some town Councillors, about the impact of the development on the small town https://www.insideottawavalley.com/news/one-of-our-primary-goals-all-along-has-been-to-make-sure-that-the-community/article_c9373039-559d-5e3f-b103-bd259409c1e7.html. On February 11 2025, the town entered mediation with Caivan over its plans. The Perth Citizens Band, still giving concerts on the bandstand behind Town Hall, is a tradition dating back over 150 years. The band is Canada's oldest active town band. The Perth Citizens Band played "The Maple Leaf Forever" as the Mammoth Cheese departed to the [[1893 Chicago World's Fair|Chicago World's Fair]] in 1893. The bandstand has been behind the Town Hall since it was moved there in 1901 and free summer concerts have taken place there ever since.

Perth is also the site of the first installation of a telephone other than Bell's experimental installations. A town dentist, Dr. J. F. Kennedy, a friend of [[Alexander Graham Bell]], installed a direct telephone connection between his home and office. By 1887, there were 19 telephones in Perth, with a switchboard in Dr. Kennedy's office.

In 2010, Perth held the historic "Kilt Run" in which 1,067 kilt-clad runners crossed the finish line. The idea to hold a kilt run in Perth was conceived of in October 2009 by Terry Stewart after the Mayor submitted a letter to the ''Perth Courier'' requesting town residents come up with an idea to help [[Perth, Scotland]] celebrate its 800th anniversary. The Perth, Ontario, Kilt Run has since become an annual event. The 2016 Kilt Run attracted 5,000 runners as part of the town's 200th anniversary.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.perthkiltrun2016.ca/about.html|title=The Running Goat: Perth's World Record Kilt Run |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812075055/http://www.perthkiltrun2016.ca/about.html |archive-date=August 12, 2016}}</ref>