Horton Township, surveyed in the 1820s and 1830s, is one of the older settlements in Renfrew County. Bounded on the north by the Ottawa River, it was quickly settled by Scottish and Irish immigrants who cleared the fertile valley lands and established a thriving agricultural base. The township includes the community of Castleford, one of the earliest lumbering sites along the river.

Horton’s history is closely tied to the timber trade. The Bonnechere River provided access to the Ottawa River system, and mill sites proliferated in the 19th century. Churches, schools, and hamlets soon followed, anchored by agricultural prosperity and river traffic.

Land surveyors in Horton work with a well-established but complex parcel fabric. Original road allowances, early private subdivisions, and expropriation plans related to railways and hydro corridors are common. The township includes both dense riverfront development and wide concession lots inland, requiring familiarity with overlapping survey plans and historical occupation.