Editing Hants County, Nova Scotia (section)

=== Formation ===
The county of Hants was established June 17, 1781, on territory taken from [[Kings County, Nova Scotia|Kings County]] that consisted of the townships of Windsor, Falmouth and Newport.<ref>{{cite book |last=Duncanson |first=John V. |date=1989 |title=Rawdon and Douglas: Two Loyalist Townships in Nova Scotia |url=https://archive.org/details/rawdondouglastwo0000dunc/ |location=Belleville, Ontario |publisher=Mika Publishing Company |page=3 |isbn=0921341342 |access-date=2025-01-27}}</ref>{{efn|The words of the minutes of the Council of Nova Scotia for June 17, 1781 make it clear that the distance from [[Horton, Nova Scotia|Horton]] (the County town of Kings County) and the inconvenience of crossing the Avon River to transact county business were factors which led to a separate county being formed. Four and a half years later its boundaries were more precisely defined and set forth by the Governor and Council in 1785. The boundary lines of Hants were duly surveyed and confirmed by the Lieutenant Governor 1828.}} The name Hants is a long-standing abbreviation for the English county of [[Hampshire]], from the Old English name ''Hantescire''. In 1861, Hants County was divided for court sessional purposes into two districts named [[Municipality of the District of East Hants|East Hants]] and West Hants. In 1879, the two districts were incorporated as [[List of municipalities in Nova Scotia#District municipalities|district municipalities]]. In 2020, the [[Windsor, Nova Scotia|Town of Windsor]] amalgamated with the District of West Hants to become the West Hants Regional Municipality.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Ashley |title=How council landed on the new name West Hants Regional Municipality |url=https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/provincial/how-council-landed-on-the-new-name-west-hants-regional-municipality-445966/ |website=www.saltwire.com |publisher=Saltwire |access-date=28 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref>