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Chatham-Kent (2016
population 101,647)[2] is a single-tier municipality in Southwestern
Ontario, Canada. Mostly rural, its population centres are Chatham,
Wallaceburg, Tilbury, Blenheim, Ridgetown, Wheatley and Dresden. The current
Municipality of Chatham-Kent was created in 1998 by the merger of Kent
County and its municipalities.
The Chatham-Kent census division, which includes the independent
Delaware Nation at Moraviantown First
Nation, had a population of 102,042 in the 2016 census.
The former city of Chatham began as a naval dockyard in the 1790s, as it
straddles the Thames River. The town was named after the
Earl of Chatham, William Pitt (the Elder). It was
built as a naval dockyard, a characteristic shared by Chatham, Kent,
England. In England, the name Chatham came from the British root ceto and
the Old English ham thus meaning a forest settlement. Following the American
Revolution and the Gnadenhutten Massacre, a group of Christian Munsee
Indians settled in what is now Moraviantown. In the War of 1812, the Battle
of the Thames took place between Moraviantown and Thamesville on October 5,
1813.
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 Arsenal in Chatham and
recruited local men to participate in the raid. He held in Chatham a
constitutional convention in The small village of North Buxton, part of the
African Canadian Heritage Tour, also played an important role in the
Underground Railroad. By the 1850's, the city of Chatham was referred to as
the "Black Mecca of Canada". A museum in the city, the Black Mecca Museum,
still bears this name. Chatham was home to a number of black churches and
business, with Black Canadians making up 1/3 of the city's population and
controlling a significant portion of the city's political power. Nearby
Dresden and Buxton were also home to thousands of land-owning black
residents. However, after the abolition of slavery in the United States,
many black families left the area. Today the city of Chatham is just 3.3%
black, with Chatham-Kent as a whole being 2.1% black. Few of the black-owned
institutions are still in operation.
In 1846, the town of Chatham had a population of about 1500, with part of it
called Chatham North. There were four churches, a theatre, a weekly
newspaper and a cricket club. The road between London and Amherstburg was
open, and transportation by stagecoach was available. A fast boat also
provided transportation to Detroit and Buffalo. Chatham had many tradesman,
a foundry, two banks, three schools, a tavern and a library where one could
read books and newspapers. By 1869, the population was 3,000 in this
industrial area with several mills, foundries, and breweries; a great deal
of wood was being produced. A steamboat offered transportation to Windsor
and Detroit. There was one bank office.
Between 1906 and 1909, the city was home to the Chatham Motor Car Company,
and from 1919 to 1921, Denby Motor Truck Company of Canada. It was also
where the Hyslop and Ronald steam fire engine manufacturer was located; the
factory would be taken over by Chatham Motor Car. In addition, it hosted
meat packer O'Keefe and Drew.
Before 1998, Kent County consisted of the townships of Camden, Chatham,
Dover, Harwich, Howard, Orford, Raleigh, Romney, Tilbury East and Zone. In
some of Canada's earliest post-Confederation censuses, some residences in
Kent County were incorrectly reported as being in Bothwell "County", which
was a separate electoral district comprising parts of Kent and Lambton
counties but not a distinct county in its own right.
In 1998 the County of Kent and the city of Chatham were amalgamated to form
the Municipality of Chatham–Kent. Most services were also combined. Since
then, bus service has begun to serve all of Chatham-Kent. Starting in 2007,
routes were set up to include the former towns of Wallaceburg and Dresden.
Before 1998, each town had their own fire department. It then became the
Chatham-Kent Fire Department upon amalgamation. The county also had separate
police departments until 1998. The city of Chatham, as well as the towns of
Wallaceburg, Dresden, and Tilbury, each had their own departments. The
Chatham-Kent Police Service was formed on September 1, 1998.
Chatham-Kent has many historic festivals throughout the year, such as the
Battle of Longwoods reenactment, which takes place on Labour Day weekend at
Fairfield Museum on Longwoods road. Chatham Kent is also home to many
historic buildings which are part of an annual ghost tour offered each year
at Halloween. The participants go on a guided walk of downtown while the
guide informs them of various ghost stories tied to the local buildings in
which they pass. Chatham-Kent was a major part of the Underground Railroad
and as such hosts the Buxton Homecoming each September. This celebrates the
areas black culture and the roots laid by early black settlers in the Buxton
area.
An interesting publication
for you to learn from...
Discovering the Cost of Living in Chatham
Kent (2014) (pdf)
Also visit this web site
for more up to date information...
Chatham-Kent Living Here |
