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History of the Region

Windsor was officially incorporated as a Village in the year 1854, as a Town in 1858 and as a City in 1892. To learn more about how the Windsor Essex Region developed, take a few moments to read through the content on this page.

Early Settlement

The first European settlement in the Detroit-Windsor area occurred in the year 1701, when the Sieur De Lamothe Cadillac and approximately 100 military and civilian personnel arrived to found Fort Pontchartrain on the Detroit side of the river. Most of these early settlers were French soldiers who had either been disbanded or discharged; they moved to this area to become farmers, minor officials, craftsmen and merchants, or fur traders.

European settlement remained largely confined to the Detroit side of the river until 1748, when the Jesuit mission to the Huron Indians was established on the south shore (Windsor), near the foot of the present Huron Church Road and the Ambassador Bridge; this marked the beginnings of Essex County.

Although Fort Pontchartrain surrendered to the British in 1760 and the Detroit side of the river was again officially surrendered to the United States in 1783, both sides of the river remained under effective British control until 1796, when U.S. forces took up actual occupation of Detroit. During this period, the settlement continued to grow but remained predominantly French in population, and until 1791 French civil law remained in effect.

In 1797, the original town site of Sandwich was established to accommodate persons of both French and British origin from the Detroit side of the river who wished to remain under British rule following American occupation of Detroit. This constituted the first urban settlement in what has now become the City of Windsor, and also the first significant migration of English speaking people into the Windsor area.

The first towns in Essex County were Amherstburg and Sandwich, established in 1796 when the British had to give up Detroit by the terms of the Jay Treaty signed in 1794. Amherstburg grew as a garrison town just below Fort Malden, which was established to replace Fort Lernoult at Detroit. The Fort and town were built opposite Bois Blanc Island, on a plot sandwiched between the unceded land of the Wyandots to the north, the "Huron Reserve", and the Indian Department officers' lands to the south. Sandwich developed over the following decades as the seat of government, and the courts for the County of Essex. It still retains a number of buildings of the Pre-confederation Era which are of historical significance and/or which exemplify the Neo-classical and Georgian styles of architecture, which were in vogue during the first half of the nineteenth century. Two such houses are the Duff-Baby Mansion (1798) and the McGregor-Cowan house (c. 1805-09).

At this time the French also ventured east along the south shore of Lake St. Clair and settled in the present day areas of Belle River, Rochester and Stoney Point. These communities still have a large francophone population.

Black Fugitive Settlement

An increased number of fugitive slaves from the southern United States fled to Essex County during the 1840's, and the majority of these fugitives settled in the township of Colchester. Large concentrations of black residents also settled in the townships of Malden, Anderdon, and Maidstone, and in the towns of Amherstburg and Sandwich. The slaves were sometimes assisted in their escape by agents of anti-slavery societies and upon their arrival at Amherstburg or Sandwich, they would be outfitted with fresh clothing and provided with rations until they could fend for themselves. From Amherstburg or Sandwich the black fugitives would begin their journey to freedom via The Underground Railroad.

Industrial Devlopment

In 1854 the Great Western Railway chose Windsor as its termination point. The arrival of the railway marked the beginning of significant industrial development in Windsor. Due to numerous fires and the continuous redevelopment of the area over the decades, few of the early buildings in downtown Windsor still exist, but a number of Late Nineteenth Century and Early Twentieth Century buildings remain, including in particular a number of larger, upper income houses in areas immediately adjacent to the downtown area.

Walkerville

The arrival of the railway in 1854 also sparked the foundation of the third of Windsor's oldest settlements, Walkerville. In 1857, Hiram Walker established his distillery at the point east of downtown, where the Great Western Railway first met the waterfront. On his lands, running south of the river, Walker planned a complete town including provisions for industry, commerce, residences and agriculture (Walker Farms). The housing, a large part of which was built by Walker's own contractors, ranged from E. Chandler Walker's estate of Willistead (1906), built in the style of a Tudor manor house, to blocks of row housing for his industrial workers (1880s). Walkerville is a unique example in Canada of a Victorian new town developed by private capital, inspired by that peculiar combination of business and philanthropic motives that characterized Victorian enterprise. Fortunately, many of the early Walkerville buildings still survive in excellent condition.

Ford Motor Company

Although the Ford Motor Car Company was established in Windsor as early as 1904 to gain the benefit of Imperial trade preferences, it was the period during and following World War I which saw the auto industry assume predominance in the City. An area known as "Ford City" was developed around the industrial complex, and numerous large residences were built overlooking the river at that time.

The automotive industry changed Windsor from a relatively slow growing collection of border communities to a rapidly growing, modern industrial city. By the early 1930s, the separate Border Cities of Windsor, East Windsor (Ford City), Walkerville and Sandwich amalgamated politically into a single community with a population of over 100,000.

In the Second World War industrial production increased dramatically, attracting many new workers and resulting in substantial residential growth within the city and in the surrounding townships. The Town of Riverside, incorporated in 1921, had already absorbed some of the spillover. In 1966 the City annexed the Towns of Riverside and Ojibway, and parts of Sandwich East, Sandwich South and Sandwich West Townships.

The Windsor-Essex Region remains primarily a manufacturing-based economy and is a leader in automotive engineering, research, and powertrain technology. It is also a Global Centre of Excellence for tooling, dies, moulds and automated machinery.

Political Development

On January 26, 1897 the first session of County Council of the County of Essex (under 'The County Councils Act,' 1896) was held in the Council Chamber of the Court House, Sandwich. County Council meetings were held there until 1974, when County Council Chambers were moved to the present Essex County Civic Centre located in the Town of Essex. Here traditions from the early days of Essex County are carried on as fourth and fifth generation descendants take great pride in their mandate to maintain a prosperous and holistic way of life for the present day residents of Essex County.

Windsor rose to pre-eminence in the area at an early date, and with a population of about 200,000 at the dawn of the 21st century, it has continued to be, by far, the largest urban centre in the Region. If you are interested in learning more about the history of the Windsor-Essex Region, the sources listed below will be very helpful:

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