Lambton County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake St. ...

, Canada. It is bordered on the north by

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

, which is drained by the

St. Clair River The St. Clair River (french: Rivière Sainte-Claire) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron int ...

, the county's western border and part of the

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

border. To the south is

Lake Saint Clair Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast da ...

and

Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent ( 2021 population: 104,316)Ausable River Au Sable or Ausable may refer to various places: Michigan *Au Sable Township, Iosco County, Michigan **Au Sable, Michigan, an unincorporated community in the above township *Au Sable Township, Roscommon County, Michigan New York *Au Sable, New Y ...

and Parkhill Creek north until it reaches

at the beach community of

Grand Bend Grand Bend is a community located on the shores of Lake Huron in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Municipality of Lambton Shores in Lambton County. History Grand Bend is situated on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron ...

. The county seat is in the Town of Plympton-Wyoming. The largest city in Lambton County is

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...

, which is located at the source of the St. Clair River at Lake Huron. The two

Blue Water Bridge The Blue Water Bridge is a twin-span international bridge across the St. Clair River that links Port Huron, Michigan, United States, and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Water Bridge connects Highway 402 in Ontario with both Interstate 69 ( ...

s cross the river at Sarnia, connecting it to

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

. The bridges are one of the busiest border crossings between the two countries. The river is also traversed by one passenger ferry further south, and a rail tunnel, also at Sarnia, runs underneath it. The CN rail tunnel accommodates double stacked rail cars. Along with Sarnia, the population centres in Lambton County are: Corunna, Petrolia, Grand Bend, Wyoming, Forest, and Watford. Atlas of the Dominion

Lambton County started as a part of the District of Hesse. The district of Hesse included British territories west of Long Point (practically all of western Ontario). The district was later divided and renamed using English district names (Essex, Suffolk, Kent, etc.). Lambton was part of Kent county. In 1849 districts were abolished and the County of Lambton was formed. Lambton and Kent first shared the capital city of Sandwich (since renamed as

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 souther ...

). In 1852 the partnership was dissolved and Lambton become a full county. It is named in honour of

John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, (12 April 1792 – 28 July 1840), also known as "Radical Jack" and commonly referred to in Canadian history texts simply as Lord Durham, was a British Whig statesman, colonial administrator, Governor G ...

, who visited the area in the late 1830s.

Subdivisions

Lambton County consists of 11 municipalities (in order of population): * City of

* Township of St. Clair * Municipality of

Lambton Shores Lambton Shores is a municipality in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada, that is on the southern shores of Lake Huron. History Lambton Shores was formed in 2001 when the Township of Bosanquet was amalgamated with the town of Forest, and the villages ...

* Town of

Plympton–Wyoming Plympton–Wyoming is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Lambton County immediately east of Sarnia. It is the seat of the Lambton County Council. The town's first mayor was Patricia Davidson, who was elected to the House of C ...

* Town of Petrolia * Township of

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

* Township of

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...

* Township of

Brooke-Alvinston Brooke-Alvinston is a township municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Lambton County. It was formed on January 1, 2001, when the Township of Brooke (incorporated 1842) was amalgamated with the Village of Alvinston (incorp ...

* Village of Point Edward * Township of

Dawn-Euphemia Dawn-Euphemia is a township (Canada), township in southwestern Ontario, Canada, in Lambton County. Residents primarily are employed by the agricultural industry, or by local industries such as Union Gas distribution centre, along with various smal ...

* Village of Oil Springs

Independent First Nation reserves

Independent of the County, but located within the Lambton census division, are three First Nations reserves: * Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, in the Kettle Point area *

Aamjiwnaang First Nation The Aamjiwnaang First Nation (formerly known as Chippewas of Sarnia First Nation) is an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) First Nations Band located on reserve land by the St. Clair River, three miles south of the southern tip of Lake Huron. The reserve is ...

, located near many of the refineries in Sarnia's Chemical Valley *

Walpole Island Walpole Island is an island and First Nation reserve in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the border between Ontario and Michigan in the United States. It is located in the mouth of the St. Clair River on Lake St. Clair, about by road from Winds ...

, near Wallaceburg

Demographics

As a

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States of America, United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-lev ...

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 cultur ...

, Lambton County 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. Historic population: * 2016: 123,399 (5-year growth rate: -1.0%) * 2011: 124,623 (5-year growth rate: 0.0%) * 2006: 124,600 (5-year growth rate: 0.8%) * 2001: 123,611 (5-year growth rate: -2.5%) * 1996: 126,829

Economy

Total employment for Lambton County is 66,370. Of those, 9,760 (14.7%) are employed in manufacturing; 7,545 (11.4%) in retail trade; 5,080 (7.7%) in accommodation and food services; and 3,155 (4.8%) are employed in agriculture. Petrochemical and refining is the largest manufacturing sector in Lambton County's economy. Established during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Sarnia and the area along the St. Clair River is home to a major processing centre for oil from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. In late 2010 and early 2011 a number of companies announced plans to provide ethane from the Marcellus Shale in the United States to Lambton County industries, providing a potential new feedstock for the production of ethylene in Lambton County. Lambton County is the site of North America's first drilled commercial oil well at Oil Springs in 1858. Tourism is another important industry in Lambton County, especially along the lake and river. The community of

and the

Pinery Provincial Park Pinery Provincial Park is a provincial park located on Lake Huron near Grand Bend, Ontario. It occupies an area of 25.32 square kilometres (6,330 acres). It is a natural environment-class Provincial Park created to help preserve oak savannah and ...

are especially popular tourist destinations, attracting thousands of people each week throughout the summer to their long, uninterrupted beaches. The part of Lambton County along Lake Huron known as

depends almost entirely upon the seasonal industries of tourism and agriculture for its well-being. There are also popular conservation areas along the St. Clair River, and a conservation area named Rock Glen Falls near Arkona along the Ausauble River internationally known for its

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

period fossils. Lambton County has 2,346 farms with a total of 592,793 acres. The largest single use of farmland in Lambton is crop production, with 85% of total farmland reported as land in crops. Over the last 20 years, soybeans, wheat, and grain corn have accounted for over 80% of total area crop production in Lambton. The fourth and fifth leading crops are sugar beets and hay. Oats, barley and mixed grains are also produced. Top animal production includes dairy, beef, hog, and poultry.

Infrastructure

Highways

* ends in

at the

, where it meets at the U.S. border and connects with .

Emergency services

The County of Lambton Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provides land ambulance services to the residents of Lambton County. The County of Lambton EMS has stations in Brigden, Corunna,

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

, Petrolia, Thedford,

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

, and two stations in

. Lambton EMS has ten ambulances and employs approximately 150 full- and part-time Primary Care Paramedics. Policing is provided by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), which has detachments in

, Petrolia, Corunna, and Point Edward. The area of Kettle & Stony Point which is one of three native reservations in Lambton County, is policed by the

Anishinabek Police Service The Anishinabek Police Service (APS) is the shared police force for 15 of 40 communities in the Anishinabek Nation (Formerly "Union of Ontario Indians") and 1 community in the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN). Created in 1994, the force has 71 sworn ...

(APS) but dispatched by the OPP.

, another first nations reservation has its own police service, the Walpole Island Police Service. The remaining first nations reservation,

, which falls geographically within the City of Sarnia, is covered by the Sarnia Police Service.

Communities

* Alvinston * Arkona * Brigden * Brights Grove * Corunna * Courtright *

Osborne Osborne may refer to: * Osborne (name) Places Australia * Osborne, South Australia (disambiguation), places associated with the suburb in the Adelaide metropolitan area * Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina region Can ...

* Petrolia * Port Franks *

Port Lambton Port Lambton is an unincorporated community in St. Clair, Ontario, St. Clair Township, Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. According to the latest census, 1084 people live within this community. In its early days, the village developed out of loc ...

* Sombra * Thedford *

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

References

External links

* {{Subdivisions of Ontario Counties in Ontario Southwestern Ontario St. Clair River 1849 establishments in Ontario