Windsor is known as The City of Roses and residents are known as Windsorites. Prior to European exploration and settlement, the Windsor area was inhabited by the First Nations and Native American people. Windsor was settled by the French in 1749 as an agricultural settlement. It is the oldest continually inhabited European settlement in Canada west of Montreal. The area was first named 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.
In 1794, after the American Revolution, the settlement of "Sandwich" was founded. It was later renamed to Windsor, after the town in Berkshire, England.
Respiratory illnesses that are associated with pollution are more prevalent here than elsewhere in Canada as Windsor is downwind from several strong polluters. The weather network has designated Windsor as "the smog capital of Canada. Windsor's Citizens Environment Alliance holds a yearly art event entitled Smogfest to raise awareness of air quality issues.
Chatham pop: 108,177
Chatham–Kent was created in 1998 by the merger of Kent County and its municipalities in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Chatham–Kent is the 12th largest municipality by area in Canada.
The former city of Chatham began as a naval dockyard in the 1790s, as it straddles the Thames River. The town was named after Chatham, Kent, England, which was also developed around a naval dockyard. In England, the name Chatham came from the British root ceto and the Old English hamthus meaning a forest settlement. Following the American Revolution and the Gnadenhutten Massacre, a group of Christian Munsee Indians settled in what is now Moraviantown.
During the 19th century, the area was part of the Underground Railroad. As a result, Chatham–Kent is now part of the African-Canadian Heritage Tour. Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site is a museum of the Dawn Settlement, established in 1841 by Josiah Henson near Dresden as refuge for the many slaves who escaped to Canada from the United States.
John Brown, the abolitionist, planned his raid on the Harpers Ferry Virginia Arsenal in Chatham and recruited local men to participate in the raid. Chatham Kent was a major part of the underground railroad and as such hosts the Buxton Homecoming each September. This celebrates the areas rich black culture and the roots laid by early black settlers in the Buxton area.
Glencoe Pop: 5890
Southwest Middlesex is a municipality in Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada.The restructured municipality of Southwest Middlesex was incorporated on January 1, 2001. This amalgamation joined the Villages of Glencoe and Wardsville with the Townships of Ekfrid and Mosa.
London Pop: 352,395
London was first permanently settled by Europeans between 1801 and 1804 by Peter Hagerman and became a village in 1826. Since then, London has grown into the largest Southwestern Ontario municipality, annexing many of the smaller communities that surrounded it.
Prior to European contact in the 18th century, the present site of London was occupied by several Neutral and Odawa/Ojibwa villages. One Anishinaabe community site was described as located near the forks of Askunessippi(Anishinaabe language); Eshkani-ziibi, "Antler River"; now called the Thames River) in circa 1690 and was referred to as Pahkatequayang ("Baketigweyaang": "At the River Fork" (lit: at where the by-stream is)). Archaeological investigations in the region indicate that aboriginal people have resided in the area for at least the past 10,000 years.
The current location of London was selected as the site of the future capital of Upper Canada in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe. Simcoe intended to name the settlement Georgina, in honour of King George III, and renamed the river. However, the choice of a capital site in the midst of extensive hardwood forests was rejected by Guy Carleton (Governor Dorchester).
The village of London, named after the British capital of London, was not founded until 1826, and not as the capital Simcoe envisioned. Rather, it was an administrative seat for the area west of the actual capital, York (now Toronto).
On April 13, 1845, fire destroyed much of London, which was at the time largely constructed of wooden buildings. One of the first casualties was the town's only fire engine. This fire burned nearly 30 acres of land destroying 150 buildings before burning itself out later the same day. One-fifth of London was destroyed and this was the province's first million dollar fire.
On January 1, 1855, London was incorporated as a "city" (10,000 or more residents). London was a "city within a forest" and as such earned the nickname "The Forest City."
In the 1860s, a sulphur spring was discovered at the forks of the Thames River while industrialists were drilling for oil. The springs became a popular destination for wealthy Ontarians, until the turn of the 20th century when a textile factory was built at the site, replacing the spa.
The area was formed during the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age, which produced areas of marshland, notably the Sifton Bog (which is actually a fen), as well as some of the most agriculturally productive areas of farmland in Ontario. The eastern half of the city is generally flat, except for around the five neighboring ponds in the south, and the west and north are characterized by gently rolling hills.
Ingersoll
The area was well known for cheese production, and was home to the first such factory in Canada from approximately 1840. In 1866, a giant block of cheese weighing 7,300 pounds (3,311 kg) was produced at the James Harris Cheese Factory for promotion of the town's cheese industry. The "Big Cheese" was exhibited in England and in the United States at the New York State Fair in Saratoga.
The area was first settled by Thomas Ingersoll (Laura Secord's father) who in 1793 obtained a land grant of 66,000 acres (27,000 ha) from Governor John Graves Simcoe. The town was originally founded as Oxford-on-the-Thames but renamed to Ingersoll in Thomas' honour by his son Charles. In 1852, the place was incorporated as the "Village of Ingersoll".
Laura Ingersoll Secord (September 13, 1775 – October 17, 1868) was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812. She is known for warning British forces of an impending American attack that led to the British victory at the Battle of Beaver Dams.
Laura Secord warns British Commander James FitzGibbon of an impending American attack at Beaver Dams. On May 27, 1813, the American army launched another attack across the Niagara River, successfully capturing Fort George. On the evening of June 21, Laura became aware of plans for a surprise American attack on British troops led by Lieutenant James FitzGibbon at Beaver Dams, which would have furthered American control in the Niagara Peninsula. Laura set out early the next morning to warn the Lieutenant herself, reportedly walking roughly twenty miles (30 km) before arriving at the camp of allied Native warriors who led her the rest of the way to FitzGibbon's headquarters at the Decew house. A small British force and a larger contingent of Mohawk warriors were then readied for the American attack with the result that almost all of the American soldiers were taken prisoner in the ensuing Battle of Beaver Dams.
Woodstock Pop: 35,480
Known as the Dairy Capital of Canada.
The "Springbank Snow Countess" was commemorated by a life-size statue (designed by acclaimed Oxford County agricultural artist Ross Butler). This bell iron and lead statue was made to honor a record-setting milk production by a Holstein (Friesian) cow named Snow Countess.
The statue was first unveiled on August 4, 1937, by the Holstein Frisian Association of Canada. Snow Countess was born on November 18, 1919, and died at age 16 on August 9, 1936. During her lifetime, she produced 9,062 pounds of butterfat, impressive at the time. The statue and granite base cost $4,000 to design and erect. The cow has become an important symbol to Woodstock and is used in many cultural events, such as the annual Cowapalooza Festival.
Brantford Pop: 90,192
Brantford is sometimes known by the nickname The Telephone City as former city resident Alexander Graham Bell conducted the first distant telephone call from the community to Paris, Ontario in 1876. It is also the birthplace of hockey player Wayne Gretzky.
The Attawandaron, or Neutral Nation, lived in the Grand River valley area before the 17th century; their main village and seat of the chief, Kandoucho, was identified by 19th-century historians as having been located on the Grand River where Brantford lies today. This town, like the rest of their settlements, was destroyed when the Iroquois declared war in 1650 and exterminated the Neutral nation.
In 1784, Captain Joseph Brant and the Six Nations Indians left New York for Canada. As a reward for their loyalty to the British Crown, they were given a large land grant, referred to as the Haldimand Tract, on the Grand River. The original Mohawk settlement was on the south edge of the present-day city at a location favourable for landing canoes. Brant's crossing of the river gave the original name to the area: Brant's ford. By 1847, European settlers began to settle further up the river at a ford in the Grand River and named the village Brantford. The Mohawk Chapel, part of the original Mohawk settlement, is Ontario's oldest Protestant church. Brantford was incorporated as a city in 1877.
Aldershot Pop: 3368
Aldershot has a "fiercely independent spirit" and always maintained a quality of independence and individual identity. This may be because Aldershot, originally called Burlington Plains, may have been the earliest settlement in East Flamborough Township. It was first surveyed in 1791 by Augustus Jones. It is believed the first family to settle in the area was the Fonger Family in the early 1790s.
Oakville Pop: 165,613
In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road. In 1805, the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada bought the lands between Etobicoke and Hamilton from the Mississaugas aboriginal people, except for the land at the mouths of Twelve Mile Creek (Bronte Creek), Sixteen Mile Creek, and along the Credit River. In 1807, British immigrants settled the area surrounding Dundas Street as well as on the shore of Lake Ontario.
In 1820, the Crown bought the area surrounding the waterways. The area around the creeks, 960 acres (3.9 km2), ceded to the Crown by the Mississaugas, was auctioned off to William Chisholm in 1827. He left the development of the area to his son, Robert Kerr Chisholm and his brother-in-law, Thomas Merrick.
Oakville's first industries included shipbuilding, timber shipment, and wheat farming. In the 1850s, there was an economic recession and the foundry, the most important industry in town, was closed. Basket-making became a major industry in the town, and the Grand Trunk Railway was built through it.
The town eventually became industrialized with the opening of Cities Service Canada (later BP Canada, and now Petro Canada) and Shell Canada oil refineries (both now closed), the Procor factory (no longer manufacturing), and, most importantly, the Ford Motor Company's Canadian headquarters and plant, all close to the Canadian National Railway and the Queen Elizabeth Way highway between Toronto and Fort Erie (Buffalo).
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from the Mississaugas. The settlement was later established as the Town of York and proclaimed as the new capital of Upper Canada by its lieutenant-governor, John Graves Simcoe. In 1834, York was incorporated as a city and renamed to its present name. The city was ransacked in the Battle of York during the War of 1812 and damaged in two great fires in 1849 and in 1904. Since its incorporation, Toronto has repeatedly expanded its borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities, most recently in 1998.
With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous city in North America. Its metropolitan area with over 5 million residents is the seventh largest urban region in North America. Toronto is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and is part of a densely populated region in Southern Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe, which is home to over 8.1 million residents—approximately 25% of Canada's population.
When Europeans first arrived at the site of present-day Toronto, the vicinity was inhabited by the Huron tribes, who by then had displaced the Iroquois tribes that had occupied the region for centuries before c. 1500. The name Toronto is likely derived from the Iroquois word tkaronto, meaning "place where trees stand in the water". It refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail, led to widespread use of the name.
French traders founded Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750, but abandoned it in 1759. During the American Revolutionary War, the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists fled for the unsettled lands north of Lake Ontario. In 1787, the British negotiated the Toronto Purchase with the Mississaugas, thereby securing more than a quarter million acres (1000 km2) of land in the Toronto area.
In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the town's capture and plunder by American forces. The surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. American soldiers destroyed much of Fort York and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation. The sacking of York was a primary motivation for the Burning of Washington by British troops later in the war. York was incorporated as the City of Toronto on March 6, 1834, reverting to its original native name.
The population of only 9,000 included escaped African American slaves. Slavery was banned outright in Upper Canada in 1834. Reformist politician William Lyon Mackenzie became the first Mayor of Toronto and led the unsuccessful Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 against the British colonial government. The city grew rapidly through the remainder of the 19th century, as a major destination for immigrants to Canada. The first significant population influx occurred with the Great Irish Famine brought a large number of Irish to the city, some of them transient and most of them Catholic. By 1851, the Irish-born population had become the largest single ethnic group in the city. Smaller numbers of Protestant Irish immigrants were welcomed by the existing Scottish and English population, giving the Orange Order significant and long lasting influence over Toronto society.
Toronto was twice for brief periods the capital of the united Province of Canada: first from 1849 to 1852, following unrest in Montreal, and later 1856–1858 after which Quebec became capital until 1866 (one year before Confederation); since then, the capital of Canada has remained Ottawa.
In the 19th century, an extensive sewage system was built, and streets became illuminated with gas lighting as a regular service. Long-distance railway lines were constructed.
The advent of the railway dramatically increased the numbers of immigrants arriving, commerce and industry, as had the Lake Ontario steamers and schooners entering port before which enabled Toronto to become a major gateway linking the world to the interior of the North American continent.
Toronto became the largest alcohol distillation (in particular spirits) centre in North America; the Gooderham and Worts Distillery operations became the world's largest whiskey factory by the 1860s. Horse-drawn streetcars gave way to electric streetcars in 1891, when the city granted the operation of the transit franchise to the Toronto Railway Company. The public transit system passed into public ownership in 1921 as the Toronto Transportation Commission, later renamed the Toronto Transit Commission. The system now has the third-highest ridership of any city public transportation system in North America.
The Great Toronto Fire of 1904 destroyed a large section of downtown Toronto, but the city was quickly rebuilt. The fire had cost more than $10 million in damage, led to more stringent fire safety laws, and the expansion of the city's fire department.
The city received new immigrant groups beginning in the late 19th century into early 20th century, particularly Germans, French, Italians, and Jews from various parts of Eastern Europe. They were soon followed by Chinese, Russians, Poles and immigrants from other Eastern European nations, as the Irish before them, many of these new migrants lived in overcrowded shanty type slums, such as "the Ward" which was centred on Bay Street, now the heart of the country's finances. Despite its fast paced growth, by the 1920s, Toronto's population and economic importance in Canada remained second to the much longer established Montreal. However, by 1934, the Toronto Stock Exchange had become the largest in the country.
Defining the Toronto skyline is the CN Tower. At a height of 553.33 metres (1,815 ft 5 in) it was the world's tallest freestanding structure until 2007 when it was surpassed by Burj Khalifa, but it is still the tallest tower in the western hemisphere surpassing Chicago's Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower) by 110 metres. It is an important telecommunications hub, and a centre of tourism in Toronto.
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