Editing Windsor, Ontario (section)

==History==
{{See also|Neighbourhoods of Windsor, Ontario}}
[[File:mackenziehall.jpg|thumb|left|Mackenzie Hall]]

===Early settlement===
At the time when the first Europeans arrived in the 17th century, the Detroit River region was inhabited by the [[Huron people|Huron]], [[Odawa]], [[Potawatomi]] and [[Iroquois]] [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]].<ref name="teasdale">{{Cite journal |last=Teasdale |first=Guillaume |date=2012 |title=Old Friends and New Foes: French Settlers and Indians in the Detroit River Border Region |journal=Michigan Historical Review |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=35–62 |doi=10.5342/michhistrevi.38.2.0035}}</ref> The land along the Detroit River was part of the [[Council of Three Fires|Three Fires Confederacy]] between the [[Ojibwe]], Potawatomi, and Odawa and was referred to as ''Wawiiatanong'' or ''Wawiiatanong Ziibi'' meaning "where the river bends" in [[Anishinaabemowin]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Sandwich |url=https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/historyofwindsor/history-of-sandwich/Pages/default.aspx#:~:text=Before%20Europeans%20arrived%2C%20the%20land,%2C%20and%20Odawa%20(Ottawa) |access-date=2022-02-21 |website=Citywindsor.ca |archive-date=September 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926230044/https://citywindsor.ca/residents/historyofwindsor/history-of-sandwich/Pages/default.aspx#:~:text=Before%20Europeans%20arrived%2C%20the%20land,%2C%20and%20Odawa%20(Ottawa) |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Israelson |first=David |date=February 9, 2021 |title=Transforming a 70s law school to reflect changing student and social demographics |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/industry-news/property-report/article-transforming-a-70s-law-school-to-reflect-changing-student-and-social/ |access-date=February 21, 2022|newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]]|publisher=Theglobeandmail.com |archive-date=February 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214174437/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/industry-news/property-report/article-transforming-a-70s-law-school-to-reflect-changing-student-and-social/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Later settlement===
A French agricultural settlement was established at the site of Windsor in 1749. It is the oldest continually inhabited European-founded settlement in Canada west of [[Montreal]]. The area was first named ''la Petite Côte'' ("Little Coast"—as opposed to the longer coastline on the Detroit side of the river). Later it was called ''La Côte de Misère'' ("Poverty Coast") because of the sandy soils near [[LaSalle, Ontario|LaSalle]].

Windsor's [[French Canadian|French-Canadian]] heritage is reflected in French street names such as Ouellette, Drouillard, Pelissier, François, Pierre, Langlois, Marentette, and Lauzon. The current street system (a grid with elongated blocks) reflects the ''Canadien'' method of agricultural land division, where the farms were long and narrow, fronting along the river. Today, the name of the north–south street often shows the name of the family that farmed the land where the street is today. The street system of outlying areas is consistent with the British system for granting land [[concession road|concessions]]. There is a sizeable French-speaking minority in Windsor and the surrounding area, particularly in the [[Lakeshore, Ontario|Lakeshore]], [[Tecumseh, Ontario|Tecumseh]] and [[LaSalle, Ontario|LaSalle]] areas.

[[File:Duff Baby House.jpg|thumb|left|[[Duff-Baby House]]]]
In 1797, after the [[American Revolution]], the settlement of "Sandwich" was established. It was later renamed Windsor, after the [[Windsor, Berkshire|town in Berkshire, England]]. The Sandwich neighbourhood on Windsor's west side is home to some of the city's oldest buildings, including Mackenzie Hall, originally built as the Essex County Courthouse in 1855. Today, this building is a community centre. The city's oldest building is the [[Duff-Baby House]], built in 1792. It is owned by [[Ontario Heritage Trust]] and houses government offices.

===19th century===
[[File:Sandwich Township in 1881, Essex County Ontario.jpg|thumb|left|Windsor as depicted in an 1881 map of East and West Sandwich Township. From the ''Illustrated atlas of the Dominion of Canada''.]]

The [[François Baby House]] in downtown Windsor was built in 1812 and houses [[Windsor's Community Museum]] dedicated to local history.

Windsor was the site of [[Battle of Windsor|a battle]] during the 1838 [[Upper Canada Rebellion]]. It was attacked by a band of 400 Americans and rebels from Detroit who burned a steamboat and two or three houses before being routed by the local militia.<ref name="auto">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Wm. H. |url=https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit |title=Smith's Canadian Gazetteer - Statistical and General Information Respecting All Parts of the Upper Province, or Canada West |date=1846 |publisher=H. & W. Rowsell |location=Toronto |page=[https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit/page/221 221]}}</ref> Later that year, Windsor also served as a theatre for the [[Patriot War]].

[[File:Underground Railroad Monument - Windsor, Ontario.JPG|thumb|right|Underground Railroad Monument]]
In 1846, Windsor had a population of about 300. Two steamboats offered service to Detroit. The barracks were still in operation. There were various tradespeople and other occupations, including bank agencies and post offices.<ref name="auto" /> The city's access to the Canada–US border made it an essential stop for refugee enslaved people gaining freedom in the northern United States along the [[Underground Railroad]]. Many went across the Detroit River to Windsor to escape pursuit by slave catchers.<ref name="Chadwick">{{Cite book |last=Chadwick |first=Bruce |url=https://archive.org/details/travelingundergr00chad/page/272 |title=Traveling the underground railroad: a visitor's guide to more than 300 sites |publisher=Carol Pub. Group |year=1999 |isbn=0806520930 |location=Secaucus, NJ |page=[https://archive.org/details/travelingundergr00chad/page/272 272] |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Woodford">{{Cite book |last=Woodford, Arthur M. |title=This is Detroit 1701–2001 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-8143-2914-4}}</ref> There were estimated to be 20,000 to 30,000 African-American refugees who settled in Canada,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Underground Railroad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzzBPR0DxdwC |publisher=US Department of Interior |date=September 1995 |page=168 |isbn=9780788146572 |access-date=August 11, 2022 |archive-date=October 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027141703/https://books.google.com/books?id=zzzBPR0DxdwC |url-status=live }}</ref> with many settling in [[Essex County, Ontario]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hill |first=Daniel G. |title=The freedom-seekers: Blacks in early Canada |date=1981 |publisher=Book Society of Canada |isbn=0772552835 |location=Agincourt, Canada |page=48 |oclc=8114887}}</ref><ref name="Switala">{{Cite book |last=Switala |first=William |title=Underground railroad in New Jersey and New York |publisher=Stackpole Books |year=2006 |isbn=9780811746298 |location=Mechanicsburg, PA |page=144}}</ref><ref name="Chadwick" />

Windsor was incorporated as a village in 1854 (the same year the village was connected to the rest of Canada by the [[Grand Trunk Railway]]/[[Canadian National Railway]]), then became a town in 1858, and gained city status in 1892.

The [[Windsor Police Service]] was established on July 1, 1867.

A fire consumed much of Windsor's downtown core on October 12, 1871, destroying over 100 buildings.<ref name="Timeline">{{Cite web |year=2002 |title=The Timeline: Fire of 1871 |url=http://209.202.75.197/digi/chi/timeline.asp?Lang=english |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026073802/http://209.202.75.197/digi/chi/drawpage.asp?RelationID=fire |archive-date=2007-10-26 |access-date=2008-03-14 |website=Settling Canada's South: How Windsor Was Made |publisher=[[Windsor Public Library]]}}</ref>

The ''Windsor Star'' Centennial Edition in 1992 covered the city's past, its success as a railway centre, and its contributions to [[World War I]] and [[World War II]] fighting efforts. It also recalled the naming controversy in 1892 when Windsor aimed to become a city. The most popular names listed in the naming controversy were ''South Detroit'', ''The Ferry'' (from the ferries that linked Windsor to Detroit), ''Windsor'', and Richmond (the runner-up in popularity). ''Windsor'' was chosen to promote the heritage of new English settlers in the city and to recognize [[Windsor Castle]] in Berkshire, England. However, ''Richmond'' was a popular name used until World War II, mainly by the local post office.

===20th century===
[[Sandwich, Ontario|Sandwich]], [[Ford City, Ontario|Ford City]] and [[Walkerville, Ontario|Walkerville]] were separate legal entities (towns) until 1935. They are now historic [[Neighbourhoods of Windsor, Ontario|neighbourhoods of Windsor]]. Ford City was incorporated as a village in 1912; it became a town in 1915 and a city in 1929. Walkerville was incorporated as a town in 1890. Sandwich was established in 1817 as a town with no municipal status. It was incorporated as a town in 1858 (the same year as neighbouring Windsor).

Windsor annexed these three towns in 1935. The nearby villages of [[Neighbourhoods of Windsor, Ontario#Ojibway|Ojibway]] and [[Neighbourhoods of Windsor, Ontario#Riverside|Riverside]] were incorporated in 1913 and 1921, respectively. Both were annexed by Windsor in 1966.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Windsor |url=https://citywindsor.ca/residents/historyofwindsor/Pages/default.aspx |access-date=July 24, 2018 |website=Citywindsor.ca |publisher=City of Windsor |df=mdy-all |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725003037/https://citywindsor.ca/residents/historyofwindsor/Pages/default.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> During the 1920s, alcohol prohibition was enforced in Michigan while alcohol was legal in Ontario. [[Rum-running in Windsor]] was a common practice then.

On October 25, 1960, a massive gas explosion destroyed the building housing the [[Metropolitan Stores|Metropolitan Store]] on Ouellette Avenue. Ten people were killed, and at least one hundred were injured.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 22, 2007 |title=1960 Explosion Remembered |url=http://www.windsorfire.com/1960-explosion-remembered/ |access-date=2017-12-02 |publisher=Windsor Fire and Rescue Services |archive-date=December 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203153856/http://www.windsorfire.com/1960-explosion-remembered/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''[[Windsor Star]]'' commemorated the 45th anniversary of the event on October 25, 2005.