Delhi, Ontario, a former township and unincorporated community, is nestled at the junction of Ontario Highways 59 and 3. Known as the "Heart of Tobacco Country," Delhi was a hub for the lumber industry before 1880. As part of Norfolk County, Ontario, Delhi had a population of 4,240 according to the 2016 Census. The community was founded by Frederick Sovereign and was initially named Sovereign's Corners. It was later renamed Fredericksburg and, in 1856, received its present-day name of Delhi, attributed to a postmaster honouring the major city of Delhi, India.
Frederick Sovereign settled in Delhi around 1812. His family, originally from Germany, emigrated to New Jersey before moving to Norfolk County in Upper Canada due to the Revolutionary War in the U.S. Sovereign was a tavern keeper for over 30 years and also manufactured plug tobacco. He donated land for the Baptist church and served as the deacon for many years.
In 1869, Delhi had a population of 300 and boasted some manufacturing and a lumber mill. The arrival of the railway in the 1870s brought significant benefits to the locals, leading to the establishment of businesses like the Delhi Canning Company in 1878. The village initially had a log schoolhouse, but a new school was built in 1892. By 1900, the village had an opera house, two tanneries, a railroad station, an Orange Hall, and a Mechanics’ Institute, as well as a flour mill, the Quance Mills or Sovereign-Quance Mills.
The St. Thomas and Eastern Railway started operations in the area on November 9, 1998. It is a shortline railroad that serves places like St. Thomas and Tillsonburg. The primary customer for the St. Thomas and Eastern Railway in Delhi is Growmark, Inc. (formerly the Norfolk Co-Op). A railway station for passengers was located on the corner of William and Main streets prior to the 1970s.
Delhi is situated mostly on flat land, with hills on several town roads. The streets in older neighborhoods tend not to have sidewalks. A bus service makes scheduled trips to the major communities of Simcoe, Delhi, Port Dover, Port Rowan, and Waterford. There is a valley that spans a distance of 5 kilometres or 3.1 miles between Delhi and Lynedoch that contains remnants of Ontario's original old-growth Carolinian forest.
Delhi has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). Winters are cold with a January average of −5.0 °C (23.0 °F) and most days have maximum temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F). Summers are warm and humid with a July high of 27.5 °C (81.5 °F) and a July low of 15 °C (59 °F). The average annual precipitation is 965 millimetres (38 in), which is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year.
Until 2001, Delhi was located within the Township of Delhi, a municipal government within the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk. Delhi continues to have several subdivisions located nearby, including Pinegrove, Gilbertville, and Atherton. As of 2016, the majority of Delhi's residents speak English as a first language and were born in Canada. Females outnumber males, and working-age people outnumber children and elderly people. Delhi is expected to experience a surge in old-age pensioners by the year 2026.
