[5] However, in 2010 it was far surpassed by the newly created local service district of Lethbridge, Morley's Siding, Brooklyn, Charleston, Jamestown, Portland, Winter Brook and Sweet Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Haliburton was chairman of the Board of Directors of The British Land and Immigration Company in England, who were responsible for developing most of the area before it became incorporated into a "Provisional County" in 1887.

In the 1860s, the Canadian Land and Emigration Company of London, England purchased 360,000 acres (150,000 ha) in this part of Ontario for settlement purposes.

Other important settlers included W. Ritchie, Alexander Niven, James Holland, John Erskine, the Heard family and Willet Austin.

Other towers included: Harburn, Eyre, Glamorgan (Green's Mountain), Harvey, Cardiff, Digby, Lutterworth, Sherboure (St. Nora), Dorset and Bruton.

There were Department of Lands and Forests offices stationed in Minden, Ontario, Dorset and at St. Nora Lake (now the Leslie Frost Centre).

The Haliburton International Film Festival (HIFF) is held each November at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion at the high school.

Southern portions of Algonquin Provincial Park lie in Dysart et al in the geographic townships of Bruton, Clyde, Eyre and Harburn.