The northern section of the county is mostly sparsely populated wilderness, with numerous rivers and lakes mostly within Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park.

In 1615, Samuel de Champlain was one of the first western explorers who traveled through the area, coming down from Lake Chemong and portaging down a trail, which is approximated by present-day Chemong Road, to the Otonabee River[3] and stayed for a brief time near the present-day site of Bridgenorth, just north of Peterborough.

The area was initially part of Northumberland County, which was formed by proclamation of the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe in 1792,[4] and defined by statute in 1798.

[7] It consisted of the following territory: The townships of and The county was named in honor of Col. Peter Robinson, who in 1825 brought 2,000 settlers from Ireland.

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