Editing Essex County, Ontario (section)

==History==
===Colonial settlement===
[[File:Lighthousecove(lighthouse).jpg|thumb|Thames River Lighthouse, in Essex County, [[Ontario]], built in 1818.]]

The area that has come to be known as Essex was one of the first counties to be settled by non-indigenous people in [[Upper Canada]], later to become [[Ontario]]. The settlements were mostly established by French settlers in the mid-18th century.  Around 1749, the first permanent settlements began to appear on what is now the south or Canadian side of the [[Detroit River]], across from the French Fort Detroit. They cultivated long, narrow plots of land along the river. Despite the name, this is not a river as such but rather a strait connecting [[Lake Huron]] and the smaller [[Lake Saint Clair]] in the north to [[Lake Erie]] in the south, as part of the [[Great Lakes]].{{Citation needed|reason=All of this information needs a source.|date=April 2018}}

Lower down the river, lands were occupied by native people known as [[Wyandot people|Wyandot]] or Huron, around the Jesuit Catholic Mission of Bois Blanc (French for White Wood), opposite the island of the same name.  The Mission was eventually abandoned and re-established closer to what became [[Sandwich, Ontario|Sandwich Township]] after the British took over the French territory following the Seven Years' War. It was closer to the safety of the British-fortified [[Fort Detroit]].  When farmers arrived, they encountered difficulty in trying to clear the extremely thick forests that covered Essex County. The farmers grew to "hate" the trees, and chopped them down, starved them from nourishment by cutting deep gashes in the bark, and burned them to clear the way to get to the fertile soils underneath. The fires were so intense, that the reddish glow could be seen from [[Chicago, Illinois|Fort Chicago]], 300 miles (500&nbsp;km) away, as millions of cords of wood burned.
[[File:Atlas of the Dominion. Counties of Kent and Essex. Province of Ontario. CTASC.jpg|thumb|Historical map that includes Essex County (1875)]]
Settlement continued southward along the river and was known as Petite Côte (Small Coast), which was a reference to the shorter length of river frontage compared to the Detroit/American side. Landmarks were named for settler  [[La Salle (surname)|LaSalle]] and the local [[Ojibway]], which continue to be in use.  The first road in Ontario was laid out to connect the settlements, which is now over 200 years old and is known as [[Highway 18 (Ontario)|Former King's Highway 18]] (now County Road 20).

When river frontage along the Petite Côte was occupied, settlement began to extend toward [[Lake Saint Clair (North America)|Lake St. Clair]], which became known as the "[[Assumption Settlement]]", for the name of its Catholic church.  In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the French ventured east along the south shore of Lake Saint Clair and settled in the present-day areas of Belle River (Belle-Rivière), Rochester, Tecumseh, Saint-Joachim and Stoney Point (Pointe-aux-Roches). These communities still have a large [[French language|francophone]] population.

[[Amherstburg, Ontario|Amherstburg]] and [[Sandwich, Ontario|Sandwich]] were the first towns established in Essex County, both in 1796 after the British finally ceded and evacuated [[Fort Detroit]] along the [[Detroit River]] under the terms of the "[[Jay Treaty]]". This was negotiated by [[John Jay]], and signed in 1794 following the American Revolutionary War. It was intended to settle the US northern boundary with Canada. It upheld the original boundary lines along the [[Great Lakes]] between the US and [[Upper Canada]] by the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris of 1783]] and the wider set of treaties known as the [[Peace of Paris (1783)|Peace of Paris]], which ended the [[American Revolution]] (1775–1783) and overseas European and multi-continental wars. Britain [[Cession|ceded]] the territory of eastern [[North America]] to be the [[History of the United States|United States]].

The British built [[Fort Malden]] near Amherstburg, opposite [[Bois Blanc Island (Ontario)|Bois Blanc Island]], separating the British military presence from the more heavily populated area of [[Sandwich, Ontario|Sandwich]] upstream, and positioned strategically to control the entrance of the river from [[Lake Erie]] and [[Lake Huron]] to the north.  The populations of both towns were augmented by people immigrating from the southern [[United States]] after the [[American Revolutionary War]] (1775–1783), including from [[Detroit|the new City of Detroit]], who chose to remain [[British subjects]], known as "[[Loyalists]]" or "[[United Empire Loyalists]]".

After the [[American Revolution]], and the [[War of 1812]] (1812–1815), which also was a confrontation over the northern border, some people continued to migrate north to the area. Settlers also arrived from the east seeking land, traveling by [[Lake Ontario]] and the [[St. Lawrence River]] of [[Lower Canada]].  Settlers began to move eastward along the north shore of Lake Erie.

The colonial government purchased land for development from the Indigenous in the southern half of the current county, located in the four townships formerly known as Gosfield North and South, and Colchester North and South.  The British Court made land available for settlement, provided that the colonist complete certain improvements within a year and that it not be used for speculation.  This area became known as the "New Settlement" (as compared to the "Old Settlement" of the towns of Amherstburg and Sandwich.  Settlers in this area included [[Hessian (soldiers)|Hessians]] who fought for the British against the American rebels, (especially known in history at the [[Battle of Trenton]] in [[New Jersey]] on the morning of December 26, 1776) and [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] pacifists (ethnic German [[Mennonites]], many from [[Pennsylvania]]).

===Formation of Essex County===
In 1791, the province of [[Upper Canada]] was formed.  In 1792, Upper Canada was divided into nineteen counties, of which Essex was the eighteenth and part of the [[Western District, Upper Canada|Western District]].  At that time, the eastern boundary of Essex County extended further east into what is now [[Kent County, Ontario|Kent County]].  Settlement continued: on January 1, 1800, an '''Act for the Better Division of the Province''' established the Townships of Rochester, Mersea, Gosfield, Maidstone, Sandwich and Malden.

===Settlement 1820 to 1870===
[[File:"Underground"_routes_to_Canada,_Map_cropped_to_display_Southern_Ontario,_Canada.jpg|thumb|right|A number of settlements of Black slaves in Essex County are identified on this 1898 [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Underground%22_routes_to_Canada_(NYPL_b10341074-5365491).jpg map] of ''"Underground" Routes to Canada''.<ref name="Chadwick">{{cite book | last = Chadwick | first = Bruce | title = Traveling the underground railroad : a visitor's guide to more than 300 sites | url = https://archive.org/details/travelingundergr00chad | url-access = registration | publisher = Carol Pub. Group | location = Secaucus, NJ | page=[https://archive.org/details/travelingundergr00chad/page/272 272] |year = 1999 | isbn = 0806520930 }}</ref>]]
Longer roads began to appear in the county after the [[War of 1812]], the first of which followed Indian trails.  [[Thomas Talbot (Upper Canada)|Colonel Thomas Talbot]] contributed to road development, and Talbot Road was named for him.  Talbot Road followed a natural ridge of glacial moraine which stretched from Windsor to [[Point Pelee]].

The establishment of good roads led to further settlement along the 'Middle Road' and in the area of what is now [[Leamington, Ontario|Leamington]]. Settlers of this era were often emigrants from Britain and Ireland; in the 1840s the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]] led to significant immigration.  The village of Maidstone was the centre of the Irish community, and an area known as the "Scotch Colony" appeared along the shore of Lake St. Clair to the north.

In 1854 the [[Great Western Railway (Ontario)|Great Western Railway]] connected the Detroit frontier with the east, crossing Essex County.  The Canadian terminal was in Windsor, which consequently forged ahead of the other towns of the county.  Other railway lines were built that connected settlements in Kingsville, Harrow, Essex and Leamington.

Essex County was also a destination of the [[Underground Railroad]]. In the 19th-century Black Americans came to Essex county by way of [[Point Pelee National Park|Pelee's Point]], Gosfield (now [[Kingsville, Ontario|Kingsville]]), [[Colchester, Ontario|Colchester]], [[Sandwich, Ontario|Sandwich]], and [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]].<ref name="Switala">{{cite book | last = Switala | first = William | page=144 |title = Underground railroad in New Jersey and New York | publisher = Stackpole Books | location = Mechanicsburg, PA | year = 2006 | isbn = 9780811746298 }}</ref> Those who stayed in the area settled in the communities of [[Fort Malden]], [[Sandwich, Ontario|Sandwich]], [[New Canaan, Ontario|New Canaan]], [[Leamington, Ontario|Mersea]], and nearby [[Dawn Settlement]] (now [[Dresden, Ontario|Dresden]]), [[Buxton]] (now [[North Buxton, Ontario|North Buxton]] and [[South Buxton, Ontario|South Buxton]]), [[Chatham, Ontario|Chatham]], and [[Elgin, Ontario|Elgin]]. The major settlement areas were [[Amherstburg, Ontario|Amherstburg]] and [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The freedom-seekers : Blacks in early Canada|last=G.|first=Hill, Daniel|date=1981|publisher=Book Society of Canada|isbn=0772552835|location=Agincourt, Canada|oclc=8114887|page=48}}</ref><ref name="Switala"/><ref name="Chadwick"/> The [[John Freeman Walls Historic Site]] in Maidstone ([[Lakeshore, Ontario|Lakeshore]]) is testament to this period.  Many of the descendants of the fugitives moved back to the United States to support the Northerners ([[Union Army]]) in the [[American Civil War]], (1861–1865), or to reconnect with family after [[Emancipation Proclamation|emancipation]]. Many families stayed.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Promised Land: History and Historiography of the Black Experience in Chatham-Kent's Settlements and Beyond|last1=de B’béri|first1=Boulou Ebanda|last2=Reid-Maroney|first2=Nina|last3=Wright|first3=Handel Kashope|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=2014|isbn=9781442667464|location=Toronto}}</ref>

=== Late 19th century===
[[File:Essex_County_Ontario_1881.jpg|thumb|right|Map showing the townships of Essex County in 1881. From the ''Illustrated atlas of the Dominion of Canada''.]]

By the late 19th century Essex County had seen fur trading and logging, land clearing and farming, road building and railway development, saw mills and gristmills, railway stations and water ports.  By this time the forests were being removed to make way for farmland.

Also noticeable in some farmers' fields are [[Pumpjack|oil pumps]], particularly near [[Belle River, Ontario|Belle River]] and [[Leamington, Ontario|Leamington]], in the northern and eastern parts of the county, respectively.  This is from [[oil shale]] within the [[bedrock]] of the [[Marcellus Formation]].

===20th Century===
====Essex County restructuring, 1990s====
[[File:Essex_County,_Ontario_Flag_(pre-2014).svg|thumb|right|Flag of Essex County, in use until 2014.]]
In 1992, discussions began to take place to reduce the number of individual municipalities, which at the time numbered 21 in the county.  This culminated on January 1, 1999, when a Minister's Order by the [[Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing]] was implemented, putting in place the new municipal structure for the County of Essex.

{| class="wikitable" align="right"
|- bgcolor=#eeeeee
|'''Township'''
|'''Township seat'''
|-
|[[Anderdon Township, Ontario|Anderdon Township]]
|[[Amherstburg, Ontario|Amherstburg]]
|-
|[[Colchester North Township, Ontario|Colchester North]]
|[[Essex, Ontario|Essex]]
|-
|[[Colchester South Township, Ontario|Colchester South]]
|[[Harrow, Ontario|Harrow]]
|-
|[[Gosfield North Township, Ontario|Gosfield North]]
|[[Cottam, Ontario|Cottam]]
|-
|[[Gosfield South Township, Ontario|Gosfield South]]
|[[Kingsville, Ontario|Kingsville]]
|-
|[[Maidstone Township, Ontario|Maidstone]]
|[[Belle River, Ontario|Belle River]]
|-
|[[Malden Township, Ontario|Malden]]
|[[Malden Centre, Ontario|Malden Centre]]
|-
|[[Mersea Township, Ontario|Mersea]]
|[[Leamington, Ontario|Leamington]]
|-
|[[Rochester Township, Ontario|Rochester]]
|[[St. Joachim, Ontario|St. Joachim]]
|-
|[[Sandwich East Township, Ontario|Sandwich East]]
|[[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]]
|-
|[[Sandwich South Township, Ontario|Sandwich South]]
|[[Tecumseh, Ontario|Tecumseh]]
|-
|[[Sandwich West Township, Ontario|Sandwich West]]
|[[LaSalle, Ontario|LaSalle]]
|-
|[[Tilbury North Township, Ontario|Tilbury North]]
|[[Stoney Point, Ontario|Stoney Point]]
|-
|[[Tilbury West Township, Ontario|Tilbury West]]
|[[Comber, Ontario|Comber]]
|-
|}

Townships:
*[[Anderdon Township, Ontario|Anderdon]] - Now part of Amherstburg
*[[Colchester North Township, Ontario|Colchester North]] - Now part of Essex
*[[Colchester South Township, Ontario|Colchester South]] - Now part of Essex
*[[Gosfield North Township, Ontario|Gosfield North]] - Now part of Kingsville
*[[Gosfield South Township, Ontario|Gosfield South]] - Now part of Kingsville
*[[Maidstone Township, Ontario|Maidstone]] - Now part of Lakeshore
*[[Malden Township, Ontario|Malden]] - Now part of Amherstburg
*[[Mersea Township, Ontario|Mersea]] - Now part of Leamington
*[[Rochester Township, Ontario|Rochester]] - Now part of Lakeshore
*[[Sandwich East Township, Ontario|Sandwich East]] - Parts in Windsor and in Tecumseh
*[[Sandwich South Township, Ontario|Sandwich South]] - Now in Tecumseh
*[[Sandwich West Township, Ontario|Sandwich West]] - Parts in LaSalle and in Windsor
*[[Tilbury North Township, Ontario|Tilbury North]] - Now in Lakeshore
*[[Tilbury West Township, Ontario|Tilbury West]] - Now in Lakeshore

Towns:
*[[Amherstburg, Ontario]] (former town of, now merged with Anderdon Twp. and Malden Twp.)
*[[Belle River, Ontario]]
*[[Essex, Ontario]] (former town of, merged with Colchester N. Twp. and Colchester S. Twp.)
*[[Harrow, Ontario]]
*[[Kingsville, Ontario]] (former town of, merged with Gosfield N. Twp. and Gosfield S. Twp.)
*[[Lasalle, Ontario]] (former part of Sandwich Town)
*[[Leamington, Ontario]] (former town of, merged with Mersea Twp.)
*[[St. Clair Beach, Ontario]]
*[[Tecumseh, Ontario]] (former town of, merged with Sandwich S. Twp)