Amherstburg
Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, 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, Michigan, facing Wyandotte, Grosse Ile Township, Brownstown Charter Township, Trenton, and Gibraltar, Michigan. It is part of the Windsor census metropolitan area.
Communities
Besides the town proper of Amherstburg, the town of Amherstburg comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communities:- Former Anderdon Township: - Edgewater Beach, McGregor, River Canard ; Golfview, Kingsbridge, Pointe West; Auld, Delisle's Corners, Loiselleville, Paquette Corners, Rivière-Aux-Canards, Southwick, Splitlog
- Former Malden Township: - Amherstburg, Amherst Point, Bar Point, Busy Bee Corners, Erieview Beach, Glen Eden, Lake Erie Country Club, Lakewood Beach, Malden Centre, McGregor, Sunset Beach, Willow Beach, Willowood; Gordon, North Malden, Quarries; Good Child Beach, Sinasac Corners, The Meadows, ''Boblo Island''
History
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 in compensation for losses in the Thirteen Colonies, or as payment for service in the military during the war.
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 before the American Civil War, refugee African-American slaves 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 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.
In 1998, The Town of Amherstburg absorbed the neighbouring Township of Anderdon and Township of Malden to form a larger Town of Amherstburg.
At 20:01 Eastern Daylight Time on April 19, 2018, a magnitude 3.6 earthquake 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. Some minor shaking was felt as far away as Toledo, Ohio along Lake Erie and Ann Arbor in the interior of Michigan.
File:Amherstburg police force showing Chief Addison and Chief Detective Renaud.tif|thumb|Amherstburg Police Force showing Chief Addison and Chief Detective Renaud,
The Amherstburg Police Service was dissolved at the end of 2018, with its officers and responsibilities transferred to a detachment of the Windsor Police Service.
Education
The local public high school in Amherstburg is North Star High School. Up until 2022 the high school was General Amherst High School, 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, located near the neighbourhood of River Canard. French-speaking students in Amherstburg may also attend École Secondaire E.J. Lajeunesse, located in Windsor, Ontario.Tourist attractions
Amherstburg is home to several tourist attractions, including Fort Malden and the Amherstburg Freedom 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. Further plaques are located at the Christ Church, built in 1819, which detail the church as well as Colonel William Caldwell of Fort Malden. 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, 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.
File:Postcard depicting the Old Eliott Home.tiff|thumb|Postcard depicting the Old Eliott Home, Amherstburg, Ontario,
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. A 'Festival of Hawks' event takes place in September.
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 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, 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 Performance Materials and Technology. Marathon Oil has a coke storage site near the river.
Chemical plant history
The production at the Honeywell plant of hydrofluoric acid 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, 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 was identified in 2008 as the source of high levels of arsenic pollution in the area, which have been a provincial 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. 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.
The plant was once part of Allied Chemical, 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.