Virtually all the communities (Deux-Rivières, Bissett Creek, Stonecliffe and Mackey) and activities are along Highway 17, the rest of the township is largely crown land, which is mostly wilderness. Property taxes are the lowest in Renfrew County.[2]
The township of Head was named in honour of Sir Edmund Walker Head, 8th Baronet who served as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick 1847-1854 and Governor-General of Canada 1854-1861. The township of Maria was named in honour of his wife, Lady Anna Maria Head (Nee Yorke) (1808-1890).[3]
Head, Clara and Maria is bordered on the north by the Ottawa River and on the south by Algonquin Provincial Park. Trans Canada Highway 17 runs through the four hamlets which make up this municipality.
The municipality has numerous with lakes and rivers, providing fishing, hunting, hiking, canoeing, and snowmobiling opportunities.[2]
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Head, Clara and Maria had a population of 267 living in 116 of its 133 total private dwellings, a change of 7.7% from its 2016 population of 248. With a land area of 719.2 km2 (277.7 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.4/km2 (1.0/sq mi) in 2021.[1]
Historical census populations – Head, Clara and Maria
^"1971 Census of Canada - Population Census Subdivisions (Historical)". Catalogue 92-702 Vol I, part 1 (Bulletin 1.1-2). Statistics Canada: 76, 139. July 1973.
^"Township Politics". images.ourontario.ca. Head, Clara and Maria Public Library. Retrieved 25 July 2024.