The Dominion House Tavern, built before 1850, is the oldest remaining continuously run

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

in the Windsor-Detroit Border region and one of the oldest in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. From its commencement it has served and housed many residents and travelers while the stagecoach ran from

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

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 ...

. It has been a licensed tavern since 1869, and a popular

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

since the 1880s; frequented often by judges, juries and county government officials until the 1970s when the Sandwich courthouse closed. The original "DH" inn (run by Albert Lininger), burnt down in 1879, and was originally located on the south side of Sandwich Street across from today's building which was quickly rebuilt within that year. Many farmers would stop on their trips from LaSalle and

River Canard River Canard is a hamlet of roughly 500 people in the northern part of Amherstburg, Ontario and the southern part of Lasalle, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Canard River and is approximately 12 miles south of Windsor, Ontario. It is home to S ...

, while transporting their produce by horse and wagon to

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 th ...

's Eastern Market. The Dominion House has been owned by many people over its many years, including Mr. Daniel Marentette from the late 1880s until his death on July 28, 1902, then sold to Mr. Eugene Breault who was a long-time friend of the Marentette family. Capt. John McCarthy purchased it, and then Lorne White during the first prohibition years. William and Jean Boyer who owned it during the rest of prohibition years, witnessed the construction of the Ambassador Bridge and housed many bridge workers. Sid Walman, who arrived from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and wanting to get into the restaurant business, made the "DH' popular by serving the University crowd and locals, as well as opening up the basement for poetry readings and allowing professors to hold classes. After 48 years, Sid sold the Dominion House to long-time employee and bartender Amanda Heiser. Much effort has been put into keeping much of the place's historic past intact. The Dominion House is currently owned by Kristian Neill and Chris Mickle. Today, it still holds to its old fashioned English pub style. Covering its walls are antique knickknacks and traditional pub pictures. In the basement, remnants of rum running tunnels from

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

years can be found. It is still frequented and enjoyed by University students, professors and locals.Morgan, Carl., Historic Border Region, Benchmark Publishing, Windsor, 1994, p.25 The Dominion House is number 8666 in the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

References

Bibliography

*Sullivan, Hal., "Business of the Century", In Business Magazine, Jan 1992, Windsor, p. 15 *Hewetson, Alan., "The Dominion House", Rose City Magazine, Oct. 22, 1997, p. 9 *Marentette Bill, "Dominion House", Best of Times Memories of Walkerville, Walkerville publishing, Canada, 2004, p. 249-250 *Marentette, Bill., The Best of Times Magazine, issue #13, Windsor, Feb 2001, p. 251-252 *Morgan, Carl., Historic Border Region, Benchmark Publishing, Windsor, 1994, p. 25 *Perrie, Bill., Ontario's Best Pubs, Toronto, WMI Books, p. 173 *Windsor Architectural Conservation Committee, Historic Sandwich town, Designated in 1993 under the Ont. Heritage Act, 1986 *Windsor Architectural Conservation Committee, Historic Sandwich town, Designated in 1993 under the Ont. Heritage Act, 1990 {{coord, 42.30342, N, 83.07504, W, display=title Drinking establishments in Canada Buildings and structures in Windsor, Ontario 1840s establishments in Canada