Kent County, Ontario

Kent County
Dissolved County

Location of Kent County in Ontario
Coordinates: 42°22′37″N 82°11′20″W / 42.377°N 82.189°W / 42.377; -82.189Coordinates: 42°22′37″N 82°11′20″W / 42.377°N 82.189°W / 42.377; -82.189
Country  Canada
Province  Ontario
Settled 1792
Dissolved 1998 - merged to form Chatham-Kent
County seat Chatham
Municipalities
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code(s) 519/226

Kent County, area 2,458 km2 (949 sq mi) is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The county was created in 1792 and named by John Graves Simcoe in honour of the English County. The county is in an alluvial plain between Lake St. Clair, and Lake Erie, watered by two navigable streams, the Thames River and the Sydenham River.

On January 1, 1998, the county, its townships, towns, and Chatham were amalgamated into the single-tier city of Chatham-Kent.

Original Townships

Camden

Area 40,625 acres (164 km2). Surveyed in 1794 and named from the Earl of Camden. Community centres: (Dresden, Thamesville)

Chatham

Area 83,964 acres (340 km2) Surveyed in 1794. Community centres: (City of Chatham, Wallaceburg)

Dover

Area 68,617 acres (278 km2). Dover Township was named after Dover, England. It was surveyed in 1794 and incorporated in 1850. Within the boundaries of Dover along the Chenal Ecarte of the river St. Clair is the site of Lord Selkirk's Baldoon Settlement, established in 1803. Community centres: (Mitchell's Bay, Grande Pointe, Dover Centre and Pain Court)

Harwich

Area 88,349 acres (358 km2). Surveyed in 1794 and named from the English port at the mouth of the Thames. A resident of Harwich, Valintine Zimmer, co-founded with friends of the same nationality the German Concession of Harwich. Community centres: (Blenheim, Erieau, Erie Beach, Shrewsbury)

Howard

Area 58,607 acres (237 km2). Surveyed in 1794 and named after Thomas Howard, Earl of Effingham, father-in-law of Sir Guy Carleton. Community centres: (Morpeth, Ridgetown)

Orford

Area, 49,677 acres (201 km2). Surveyed in 1794 and named from the English port of Orford, Suffolk. Community centres: (Highgate)

Raleigh

Area 72,100 acres (292 km2). Surveyed in 1794. Likely named for Walter Raleigh. Community centres: (Charing Cross)

Romney

Area 26,193 acres (106 km2), Surveyed in 1794. Named for the Kentish port in England. Community centres: (Wheatley)

Tilbury East

Area 54,116 acres (219 km2). Surveyed in 1794, named for the English Tilbury fort in Essex. Community centres: (Merlin, Tilbury)

Zone

Area 27,154 acres (110 km2). Separated from Orford in 1821 to provide a special organizational district, "the zone", for the Indians of the Moravian Mission on the Thames. Community centres: (Bothwell)

Municipalities (as of 1997)

  • City of Chatham: County Seat, largest population centre in the county.
  • Town of Blenheim: Incorporated in 1885.
  • Town of Bothwell: Incorporated in 1867.
  • Town of Dresden: Incorporated in 1882.
  • Town of Ridgetown: Incorporated in 1875.
  • Town of Tilbury: Incorporated as Village of Tilbury Centre in 1887 and Town of Tilbury in 1910.
  • Town of Wallaceburg: Incorporated as a village in 1875 and a town in 1896.
  • Village of Erie Beach
  • Village of Erieau
  • Village of Highgate
  • Village of Thamesville
  • Village of Wheatley
  • Township of Camden
  • Township of Chatham
  • Township of Dover
  • Township of Harwich
  • Township of Howard
  • Township of Orford
  • Township of Raleigh
  • Township of Romney
  • Township of Tilbury East
  • Township of Zone

See also

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.