Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in

Essex County, Ontario Essex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada comprising seven municipalities: Amherstburg, Kingsville, Lakeshore, LaSalle, Leamington, Tecumseh and the administrative seat, Essex. Administrative divisions Essex Co ...

, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town is approximately south of the U.S. city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

, facing Wyandotte, Grosse Ile Township, Brownstown Charter Township, Trenton, and Gibraltar, Michigan. It is part of the Windsor census metropolitan area.

Communities

The town of Amherstburg comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communities: Amherst Point, Bar Point, Busy Bee Corners, Edgewater Beach, Erieview Beach, Glen Eden, Lake Erie Country Club, Lakewood Beach, Malden Centre, McGregor (partially), River Canard (partially), Sunset Beach, Willow Beach, Willowood; ''Golfview'', ''Kingsbridge'', ''Pointe West''; ''Auld'', ''Gordon'', ''Loiselleville'', ''North Malden'', ''Quarries'', ''Southwick'', ''Splitlog''; ''Good Child Beach'', ''The Meadows'' & ''Boblo Island''

History

French colonists had settled along what became the Canadian side of the Detroit River during the colonial era, establishing small farms. The Petite Côte settlement was founded along the river to the north. In 1796, after losing the Thirteen Colonies following the American Revolutionary War, the British established Fort Malden as a military fort overlooking the river's mouth at Lake Erie. It was occupied as a garrison. This stimulated development in the area, as did the Crown granting land in Upper Canada to Loyalists (now known as

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America dur ...

) in compensation for losses in the Thirteen Colonies, or as payment for service in the military during the war. Park House Museum, Amherstburg Ontario

The Crown also wanted to increase population and development in Upper Canada. The new settlers built many of their houses in the French style of a century before, giving the new town a historic character. French-speaking colonists also settled here, some of whom were descendants of soldiers and traders associated with Fort Detroit, or other early colonists. They were known as Fort Detroit French, in contrast to later migrants of the 19th century from Quebec, who became known as Canadian French. St. Jean was their Catholic church. During the days of the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, refugee

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

often crossed the Detroit river to escape to freedom in Canada, after the Crown abolished slavery. Although Michigan was a free state, slavecatchers went to Detroit trying to capture slaves and take them to owners for bounty. Detroit abolitionists William Lambert and especially George DeBaptiste were key to helping the slaves escape. DeBaptiste owned a lake steamboat that he used to offload refugees in town while docked ostensibly to load lumber. They used Fort Malden as one of several entry points to Canada. The town is mentioned in ''

Uncle Tom’s Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...

'' as the entry point of George and Eliza, after escaping from slavery in the United States. By 1869, the town of Amherstburg in the Township of Malden, County of Essex had a population of 2,500. When the fort was no longer needed for military purposes, the government adapted it for use as a provincial "lunatic asylum". Its main building was later used as a Port of Entry, Money Order office, Post Office & savings bank. Amherstburg was incorporated as a town in 1878. The town is named after Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, commander of the British forces and first British Governor General of the Province of Quebec (1760). In 1998, The Town of Amherstburg absorbed the neighbouring Township of Anderdon (to its northeast) and Township of Malden (to its southeast) to form a larger Town of Amherstburg. At 20:01

Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a sma ...

on April 19, 2018, a magnitude 3.6 earthquake (with a depth of ) occurred in Amherstburg, between the main portion of town and McGregor. No damage was reported, but the 30-second shaking was felt in Windsor, Downtown Detroit, and the Downriver communities across the river, such as

Grosse Ile, Michigan Große or Grosse is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Demetrius Grosse *Maurice Grosse *Katharina Grosse *Ben Grosse *Hans-Werner Grosse *Heinz-Josef Große *Julius Grosse {{surname German-language surnames ...

. Some minor shaking was felt as far away as

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnat ...

along Lake Erie and Ann Arbor in the interior of Michigan.

Education

The local public high school in Amherstburg is North Star High School. Up until 2022 the high school was

General Amherst High School General Amherst High School was a high school in the southwestern Ontario town of Amherstburg. GAHS feeder schools were Amherstburg Public School, Anderdon Public School and Malden Central Public School. Reputation General Amherst High School was ...

, named after Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst. Although North Star High School is located in the town, some youth residents choose to attend

St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School is a publicly funded high school in LaSalle, Ontario, LaSalle, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board and serves as the primary Catholic secondary scho ...

, located near the neighbourhood of River Canard. French-speaking students in Amherstburg may also attend École Secondaire E.J. Lajeunesse, located in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

Tourist attractions

Amherstburg is home to several tourist attractions, including Fort Malden and the Amherstburg Freedom Museum (formerly the North American Black Historical Museum). This explores the history of African-American refugees in western Ontario, who sought freedom from slavery and made their homes here. An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected in Amherstburg by the province to commemorate Bellevue House. Built c. 1816-19, it was the home of Catherine Reynolds, a landscape painter, and her brother Robert Reynolds. Additional tourist attractions include the Park House Museum and King's Navy Yard Park, both of which are located in the heart of old Amherstburg. The Gibson Gallery is located in a former Michigan Central Railroad Station (c. 1896), which has been fully restored. The gallery operates year-round, featuring exhibits by local artists, the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Windsor, travelling exhibits from Ontario museums and galleries, and student art/photography exhibits. A restored Essex Terminal railway caboose is operated as a railway museum. Gordon House was built in 1798 as a residence overlooking the Detroit River. Since being restored, it houses a Marine exhibit. ] The Holiday Beach Conservation Area is one of the best fall birding sites in North America for viewing migratory birds. The nature reserve contains over of beaches, picnic areas, a trail along the edge of Big Creek Marsh. Holiday Beach is considered a premiere spot to view the fall migration of raptors (birds of prey). A 'Festival of Hawks' event takes place in September. Boblo Island Amusement Park, BobLo Island, which has been developed into a 240-acre private residential community, also has white sand beaches, full-service marina, nature trails, the BobLo Island Beach House Restaurant, Captain Bob‘s Island Ice Cream and Coffee Cabin and South Beach Water Sports. BobLo is accessible via a 10-minute private ferry ride, which runs every 20 minutes, 365 days per year.

Economy

Amherstburg is a town of trade and services to support regional agriculture. It has also become known for several

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

in the area. Amherstburg Farmers' Market is open every Saturday, from 8:30am to 3:30pm. The Farmer's Market is located at the end of Howard Avenue near County Rd 20. Amherstburg also has a high proportion of retirement residences and second homes. Local industry includes

Diageo Diageo plc () is a multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweichow Moutai of China in 201 ...

, a whiskey bottling plant for the Crown Royal Canadian whiskey, Windsor Mold's Precision Plastics, one of Ontario's largest full-service suppliers of industrial plastics and thermoplastic, and

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...

Performance Materials and Technology.

Marathon Oil Marathon Oil Corporation is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration incorporated in Ohio and headquartered in the Marathon Oil Tower in Houston, Texas. A direct descendant of Standard Oil, it also runs international gas operations ...

has a coke storage site near the river.

Chemical plant history

The production at the Honeywell plant of

hydrofluoric acid Hydrofluoric acid is a solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in water. Solutions of HF are colourless, acidic and highly corrosive. It is used to make most fluorine-containing compounds; examples include the commonly used pharmaceutical antidepres ...

(HF) was suspended in October 2013 in favour of a plant in Geismar, Louisiana. The Honeywell plant is used in the production of fuels, refrigerants, and other materials. HF is a precursor to numerous pharmaceuticals, as well as being used to produce

Teflon Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemo ...

, fluoropolymers and fluorocarbons. Because of its highly corrosive nature, HF is also used to dissolve glass, in glass etching and frosting, and is used in quartz purification, chemical milling, steel pickling and cleaning silicon wafers. It is produced by treating the mineral fluorite with sulfuric acid, which produces hydrogen fluoride and calcium sulfate. The plant, which is located at 395 Front Rd, North, had previously suspended its operations between 1992 and 1996. There is hope locally that production will resume at some future time. The plant's gypsum pond had been identified in 2008 as the source of high levels of arsenic pollution in the area, which have been a provincial

Ministry of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

concern since 2006. Honeywell now owns the adjacent Brunner Mond chemical plant and soda ash settling basins site, whose former owners, General Chemical Industrial Products, declared bankruptcy in 2005."Remediation of Amherstburg’s former General Chemical plant on schedule" 29 Apr 2013
This site was used since 1920 to manufacture calcium chloride and other chemicals, which were shipped from a deep water port on the Detroit River. The site has been since April 2012 the subject of remediation work, supervised by CH2M Hill.''Daily Commercial News:'' "Amherstburg, Ontario chemical plant set to come down piece by piece," 26 Apr 2012
The plant was once part of

Allied Chemical Allied Corp. was a major American company with operations in the chemical, aerospace, automotive, oil and gas industries. It was initially formed in 1920 as the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation as an amalgamation of five chemical companies. In ...

, which retained it when it sold the soda ash and calcium chloride operations and Amherst Quarries to General Chemical. The plant is composed of three separate parcels connected through rights of way and easements. In 1999, Allied Signal merged with the much smaller Honeywell Inc. but chose to carry on the newly expanded corporation under the Honeywell name.

Transportation

In September 2022, Transit Windsor began a providing service between Amherstburg and Windsor (the nearest local metropolis), on a two-year pilot project. Commercial rail service is provided through Essex Terminal Railway, which operates a 35 km line to Windsor. The former Michigan Central Railway/ CASO railway linking Amherstburg to

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

was converted into the Cypher Systems Group Greenway

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetc ...

in stages beginning in 2007, with the two stream bridges being rehabilitated for public use again in 2017. Small boats are welcome to call at any one of three local marinas that serve

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...

and the Detroit River. Amherstburg Ferry Company operates private

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

service to Bob-Lo Island community. The ferry service once operated , a car ferry acquired in 1960s after the Ogdensburg–Prescott Ferry service closed following the opening of the Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge. In July 2020, the Amherstburg Ferry Company acquired the Daldean Ferry which had been operating on the St. Clair River between since 1951.

Sports

Amherstburg is home to the following competitive sports teams: *

Amherstburg Admirals The Amherstburg Admirals are a Canada, Canadian junior ice hockey, junior ice hockey club based in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association. From 1987 until 2013, the ...

Jr. C Hockey *Amherstburg Stars Minor Hockey *Amherstburg Cardinals Baseball *Amherstburg Timberwolves Football *North Star High School Wolves (various Men's and Women's sports teams) The Amherstburg North Stars Midget "B" hockey team were winners of the 1976 OMHA playdowns and winners of the town's first-ever OMHA All-Ontario title for any age group. The Amherstburg North Stars Juvenile "BB" hockey team were the winners of the 1977 OMHA playdowns and winners of the town's first-ever OMHA All-Ontario title for that age group. The Amherstburg Stars Midget "A" hockey team were winners of the 2010 and 2011 OMHA playdowns and winners of the town's first-ever OHF title.

Festivals

In the first week of every August, Amherstburg holds a heritage festival, consisting of activities at several locations around town. At Fort Malden, re-enactors depict eras ranging from the Roman Empire to the Second World War, establishing camps and performing battle demonstrations. Since 2006, Amherstburg has held an annual Shores of Erie Wine Festival. As of 2017, the event has been cancelled indefinitely after a liquor breach fine and the death of a teenager in 2014. Amherstburg also celebrates Canada Day with a yearly fireworks display and a day of family activities. Art by the River (established in 1967), is an annual two-day arts and craft festival that takes place the weekend before Labour Day weekend on the grounds of the Fort Malden National Historic Site. Other festivities include: *Spring Wine N' Hop (May) *Beef In the Burg Barbecue (June) *Firefighters "J Wimpy" Volleyball Tournament (June) *Open Streets Amherstburg (Fridays at 3pm - Sundays at 3pm, June-September) *Canada Day Celebrations/Ice Cream Festival (July 1) *Gone Crazy Car Show (July) *Ribfest (July) *The Uncommon Festival (August) *Woofa Roo Pet Festival (August) *Cancer Walk-a-thon (October) *Christmas Parade (Late November) *River Lights (November through December) *Amherstburg Christmas Pub Crawl (December)

Climate

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...

, Amherstburg had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Population trend for former municipalities:Statistics Canada:

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

, 2016 census * Population in 2001: 20,339 ** Amherstburg (former town): 10,822 ** Anderdon (former township): 6331 ** Malden (former township): 3186 * Population total in 1996: 19,273 ** Amherstburg (town): 10,245 ** Anderdon (township): 5730 ** Malden (township): 3298 * Population total in 1991: 17,577 ** Amherstburg (town): 8921 ** Anderdon (township): 5502 ** Malden (township): 3155

Notable people

* Sally Ainse -

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

and

fur trader The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...

* Shelton Brooks - songwriter/composer * Seth Bullock - Wild West sheriff, hardware store owner and U.S. Marshal * Robert T. Burton - early Mormon leader and Utah pioneer, born in Amherstburg * Jay "Nig" Clarke -

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

player * Norman Hackett - actor, born in Amherstburg * Malcolm Knight - economist and financier * Henry William McKenny - politician, Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 1905 - 1917 * Richard Peddie - former President and CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment * John Richardson - military officer and author * Anne M. Squire - 31st Moderator of the United Church of Canada *

Wesley Weber Wesley Wayne Weber is a Canadian who is considered one of the country's most prominent counterfeit banknote creators. Weber succeeded in counterfeiting the 1986 series Canadian hundred-dollar bill. They were the highest quality computer produce ...

- counterfeiter *

Kevin Westgarth Kevin Reginald Westgarth (born February 7, 1984) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, and Calgary Flames. Westgarth main ...

- Stanley Cup Champion and former NHL player *

Eugene Whelan Eugene Francis "Gene" Whelan, ( ) was a Canadian politician, sitting in the House of Commons from 1962 to 1984, and in the Senate from 1996 to 1999. He was also Minister of Agriculture under Pierre Trudeau from 1972 to 1984, and became one of ...

- politician, Federal Minister of Agriculture, born in Anderdon Township

References

External links

* {{Authority control Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Populated places on Lake Erie in Canada Towns in Ontario Populated places on the Underground Railroad Amherstburg, Ontario 1796 establishments in Canada Ontario populated places on the Detroit River