Georgina, Ont, town, pop 39 263 (2001c), 34 777 (1996c), 29 746 (1991c), 22 486 (1986c), area 287.72 km2. The townships of North Gwillimbury and Georgina were amalgamated in 1971 and incorporated as a town in 1986. Georgina is located on the south shore of LAKE SIMCOE, 50 km north of Toronto. The Town of Georgina includes the communities of Udora, Keswick, Sutton and Jackson's Point. The town was named in honour of King George III. When surveyed in 1817, there was already some settlement in the area, and the good agricultural land attracted further settlers. The building of the Toronto and Nipissing Railway with its terminus at Jackson's Point encouraged recreational uses of Lake Simcoe and it was a popular resort even in its early days.
Tourism is year-round, with ice fishing and the Georgina Winter Festival encouraging activity during the winter months. Tourism remains its major economic activity, although agricultural and sod operations are also significant. The town contains a number of historic buildings including The Manor, the home of J. O'Brien Bourchier, an early settler, leading citizen and mill owner; the Udora Mill, one of the last functioning mills in Ontario operating from the 1860s to the 1970s; the Sutton Mill; Thomas Mossington House and St. Andrews Presbyterian Church.