Little Britain, Ontario

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Little Britain
motto = 'Sports Capital of the Kawarthas'
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_type2 = City of Kawartha Lakes
subdivision_name = Canada
subdivision_name1 = Ontario
subdivision_name2 = Ward 8
established_date = 1701
population_total = approx. 350

Little Britain is a community in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada. It is located 15 km southwest of Lindsay. Formerly a part of Mariposa Township and Victoria County, Little Britain is now part of Ward 8, City of Kawartha Lakes.

History

Little Britain was established in 1834 by a man named Harrison Haight. He built the first mill in Little Britain in 1837. This mill, which stood until 1910, took nearly the whole countryside to build. At the time, there was no road that led from Little Britain to Oakwood, located 5 km to the north. In 1850 Christians came and built the first church. They were followed by the Bible Church in 1852. The Post Office came in 1853.Prominent characters of the time included Joseph Maunder's carriage and blacksmithing works, W.M Burden's carriage and blacksmithing works, Edwin Mark's foundry, Isaac Finley's steam roller flour mill and the Davidson's flour mill. The railway was brought into Lindsay around the turn of the century. This however, did little to advance Little Britain's economic output. In fact the population of Mariposa Township declined sharply between 1871-1920 from 3,132 to 2,231.

Today

Little Britain today is still a primarily agricultural town. It also has a fairly significant tourist presence from the influx of cottagers on nearby Lake Scugog, and from those who use Little Britain Road as a means to bypass heavy cottager summer traffic on Highway 7. For such a small town, Little Britain boasts a number of comfortable amenities including a, restaurant, bakery, grocery store, hardware store, bank, library, arena, gas station, park, as well as many other small businesses. Overall, it is a tiny regional hub for the southwestern Kawartha Lakes local population which can easily swell up to 4000 in the summer months. Little Britain offers a commercial alternative to the larger and further away towns of Lindsay, and Port Perry.