Editing Newtownards (section)

===Victorian growth===
The early 19th century saw the reclamation of the marshlands south of the town. At the same time, its growth was accelerated by integration into the Belfast and Lagan Valley industrial region and market. The [[Belfast and County Down Railway]] connected Newtownards to [[Belfast]], via [[Comber]] and [[Dundonald, County Down|Dundonald]], in 1850, and to Donaghadee in 1861. By the same year, the town's population had risen to 9,500. (This rail line was closed in 1950.) On 12 July 1867, despite the [[Party Processions Act]]s, the [[Orange Institution|Orange Order]] paraded from Bangor to Newtownards. The parade was organised by [[William Johnston (Irish politician)|William Johnston]] (sentenced to a short term in prison the next year for his actions) and about 30,000 took part.<ref>{{cite web|title=Parades and Marches – Chronology 2: Historical Dates and Events|work=Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN)|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/parade/chpa2.htm|access-date=28 January 2010}}</ref>

As the nineteenth century progressed the economy became increasingly tied to the growing city of Belfast and the town continued to prosper and by the 20th century had increasingly become a [[commuter]] town. Newtownards' population reached 13,100 in 1961 and had doubled to 28,000 by 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/2017%20Mid-year%20Population%20Estimates%20for%20District%20Electoral%20Areas%20-%20statistical%20bulletin.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723174559/https://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/2017%20Mid-year%20Population%20Estimates%20for%20District%20Electoral%20Areas%20-%20statistical%20bulletin.pdf |archive-date=2019-07-23 |url-status=live|title=2017 Mid-year Population Estimates for District Electoral Areas|page=23|publisher=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency|access-date=25 November 2022}}</ref>