Picton, Ont, unincorporated place within the municipality of Prince Edward County, pop 24 901 (2001c), 25 046 A (1996c), area 1049.99 km2. Picton is on a peninsula of rolling farmland and sand beaches which juts out into Lake Ontario about 160 km east of TORONTO. Located on an arm of the Bay of Quinte, Picton developed as a harbour and distribution centre for the surrounding countryside. It was originally settled by LOYALISTS in the 1780s and was first named Hallowell. During the 1820s the introduction of steamboats made the harbour more accessible to lake traffic. An adjacent village called Picton was laid out, and the 2 were amalgamated as the town of Picton in 1837. In 1998, Picton as well as the other 9 municipalities in Prince Edward County and the county itself amalgamated into one municipality under the countys name. Picton is the administration centre for the county. Sir Thomas Picton was a British officer who died at the Battle of Waterloo. For 2 years (1833-35), Sir John A. MACDONALD practised law here. Picton has remained a small lake port and service centre for an agricultural hinterland.