Early Settlement History

The first Europeans to settle in Essex County were French. Former soldiers from Fort Pontchartrain or Fort Detroit crossed the Detroit River about 1747 and began settling in Amherstburg, Sandwich and on the banks of Turkey Creek.

Indigenous communities were already present, with the Wyandot and Huron people near present-day Amherstburg and the Ottawa people near present-day Windsor. Many French settlers married Indigenous women and many residents living in Essex County today can trace their roots to Pottawatomie, Ojibway, Ottawa or Wyandot ancestry. Essex County also has a significant Francophone population.

Sandwich grew under the protection of Fort Detroit and the Mission at Sandwich was the foundation for the present parish at Assumption. The settlement around Turkey Creek became known as Petite Cote because it had a smaller coast compared to the U.S. side. It is now known as LaSalle.

In the late 1700s, French trappers and traders began settling on the shores of Lake St. Clair in what is now Lakeshore.

First Towns and First Road

Amherstburg and Sandwich were established as Towns in 1796 when the British were forced to give up Detroit under the terms of the Jay Treaty with the United States.

Amherstburg grew as a garrison town in the shadow of Fort Malden, which would play a pivotal role in the War of 1812.

The first road in Ontario was laid out in Petite Cote. It was known as King's Highway No. 18 until 1997. It is now known as County Road 20, which stretches from LaSalle through Amherstburg and into Essex, Kingsville and Leamington.

Settlement Following the American Revolution

Settlers loyal to the Crown crossed the Detroit River following the Revolution and were rewarded with land.

With much of the land around Amherstburg taken by former military officers, these new settlers moved eastward, near where Kingsville is today, burning down huge swaths of trees to access the fertile farmland that still yields crops today.

Many of these settlers were Hessians, who fought for the British, and Pennsylvania Dutch Mennonites who fled America because they were branded as British supporters.

Highway 3 Takes Shape

A natural ridge of glacial moraine stretching from Windsor to Point Pelee is the foundation for Highway 3 or Talbot Road, a vital link that promoted the expansion of Essex County into Maidstone, Essex, Cottam, Ruthven and Leamington.

Colonel Thomas Talbot had Mahlon Burwell surveyed the route that would eventually become Highway 3 and work on the road started in 1809. Other roads took shape at the time, following well-worn Indigenous trails.

Work on Middle Road, a vital east-west artery now known as County Road 46, was completed in 1823. Settlers along this road were primarily Irish due to an influx associated with the potato famine of the 1840s.

The village of Maidstone was the centre of the Irish community. German and Scottish immigrants also populated the area.

Underground Railroad

Tens of thousands of refugee slaves fled bondage in America via the Underground Railroad and thousands of them found freedom on the welcoming shores of Essex County.

They settled in Amherstburg, Anderdon, Malden, Sandwich, Colchester and Maidstone. Many became farmers, craftsmen, merchants, traders, labourers and sailors.

Their contributions and spirit helped shaped Essex County and, indeed, the country. Their legacy is proudly celebrated with monuments and museums including the Amherstburg Freedom Museum and the John Freeman Walls Historic Site and Underground Railroad Museum in Lakeshore.

Railways

In 1854, trains lumbered across Essex County on the Great Western Railway, which connected Detroit to rapidly growing areas to the east.

Windsor hosted the rail terminal and began to take shape as an urban centre. Leamington, Kingsville and Harrow also began to grow with the influence of the railway and a burgeoning lumber market.

The Lake Erie, Essex and Detroit River Railway was constructed by the Walker family in Walkerville in the 1880s.

Early Municipal History Timeline

July 24, 1788 – Governor General Lord Dorchester divides the province of Quebec into five districts: Gaspe, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nassau and Hesse.

1791 – Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe is appointed the fire Lieutenant-Governor of the new province of Upper Canada

July 16, 1792 – Simcoe divides Upper Canada into 19 counties, including Essex County

October 15, 1792 – The District of Hesse is renamed the Western District. It includes the counties of Essex, Kent and Suffolk

January 1, 1800 -- an Act for the Better Division of the Province stated that “The Townships of Rochester, Mersea, Gosfield, Maidstone, Sandwich, Malden, and the tracts of land occupied by the Huron and other Indians upon the Strait, together with such islands as are in Lake Erie, St. Clair and the Straits, do constitute and form the County of Essex and Kent, together with so much of the Province as is not included within any other district thereof, do constitute the Western District.”

February 1842 – Representatives from the Counties of Essex, Kent and Lambton meet at the Court House in Sandwich for the first meeting of the Western District Council.

January 28, 1850 – First meeting of the Municipal Council of the United Counties of Essex, Kent and Lambton

January 27, 1851 – First meeting of the Municipal Council of the United Counties of Essex and Lambton

January 26, 1897 – The first meeting of Essex County Council was held at Court House in Sandwich.