Wheatley is a community in

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 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 ...

, within the municipality of

Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent ( 2021 population: 104,316)Leamington. Nearby parks include Two Creeks Conservation Area, which has 15 km of hiking and bicycling paths, Kopegaron Woods Conservation Area, Hillman Marsh Conservation Area and

Point Pelee National Park Point Pelee National Park (; french: Parc national de la Pointe-Pelée) is a national park in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada where it extends into Lake Erie. The word is French for 'bald'. Point Pelee consists of a peninsula of la ...

Rondeau Provincial Park Rondeau Provincial Park is the second oldest provincial park in Ontario, Canada, having been established with an order in council on 8 September 1894. The park is located in Southwestern Ontario, on an 8 km long crescentic sand spit exten ...

is only a forty-five-minute drive to the east. It also boasts

Wheatley Provincial Park Wheatley Provincial Park is a protected area in the municipality of Chatham–Kent in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Erie near the community of Wheatley and occupies an area of . Visitors to nearby Point Pelee National Park o ...

, home to the endangered Blue Racer snake, which can only be found in the park as well as the

and on

Pelee Island Pelee may refer to: * Île Pelée, an island off Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France *Pelee, Ontario, an island in Lake Erie, Canada *Point Pelee National Park, a park in Ontario, Canada *Mount Pelée, a volcano in Martinique *Peleus In Greek mytholo ...

. The town has a few beaches, including Camper's Cove Campsite and beach which lies on the former

Highway 3 The following highways are numbered 3, H-3, PRI-3, AH3, E03 and R3. For roads numbered A3, see A3 roads. For roads numbered M3, see M3. For roads numbered N3, see N3. For roads numbered 3A, see 3A. International * Asian Highway 3 * Europea ...

. As well as Holiday Harbour Resort on Pier Road. The town's population in 2006 was 2,322. It is now 2,868, as of 2016. Wheatley is the primary community of licence for CHWI, a television station more popularly associated with the city of

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 ...

. Wheatley's sign proclaims it as the "Freshwater Fish Capital of the World" and is home to a large fishing port located on

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

. As such, Wheatley is home to many fisheries owned and operated by local families. Hike Metal Products, a shipbuilding/refitting/fabricating company based at the harbour, is the builder of the ''

Maid of the Mist The Maid of the Mist is a sightseeing boat tour of Niagara Falls, starting and ending on the American side, crossing briefly into Canada during a portion of the trip. The fleet currently consists of two vessels, both of which launched in 2020. ...

'', the vessel used at

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

for the tours under the great Canadian waterfall. It also built the 141-foot ''Copasetic'', a research vessel, as well as a ferry for the

Toronto Island Airport Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a regional airport located on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is often referred to as Toronto Island Airport and was previously known as ''Port George VI Island Airport'' and ''Toronto ...

, to take passengers and vehicles from

downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Stre ...

to the

Toronto Islands The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the ...

History

Prior to the arrival of white settlers, the area was home to a population of aboriginals known as Neutrals, an Iroquoian tribe of the south. The Indigenous Neutrals were experts in carving arrowheads, spear points, and tomahawks. The flint beds located along the shores of Lake Erie were the source of the hard-stone building materials. The year 1818 saw the beginning of construction of the southwestern portion of Talbot Road. Col. Burwell, the chief surveyor, was hired by Col. Thomas Talbot (a British officer and land developer) to supervise the construction of the road which eventually stretched over 300 miles along the shoreline of Lake Erie. Following the completion of the road, settlers arrived and began taking up crown lands. The first settler, Wheatley, arrived from England. Wheatley had been named "Pegtown" prior to the arrival of its first permanent settler Richard Wheatley who built a home on lot 218 Talbot trail in 1832. He was proceeded by such families as the Derbyshire's, Lamarsh's, Julien's and Ivison's most of whom can be found in directories and on local street signs in the area. Many speculate that the town was referred to as Pegtown due to the construction of homes on stilts/pegs due to the marshlands located near the lake. The origin of the name remain unclear as other theories exist. The name "Pegtown" was eventually discarded as Richard Wheatley's son in law, William Buchanan opened a post office (1865) and renamed the town in honor of its first permanent resident. In 1913, the existing political structure of the village was deemed outdated. As a result, half of the town fell under the jurisdiction of Mersea Township whilst the other fell under Romney Township. A petition was presented to parliament February 19, 1914 and resulted in Wheatley being approved as a village located within Kent County. Twenty-five local residents met at Queen's Park for the final approval. The official birthday of the village is May 1, 1914. In 1999 the Conservative government mandated amalgamation of all Kent County Municipalities with Chatham as a province-wide plan to reduce costs. Thought was given to moving Wheatley to Essex County's jurisdiction but it became part of West Kent's riding along with Tilbury, Romney, Tilbury East, and the village of Merlin. A book about the town, ''Wheatley's Story'', by Rita Lobzun, was published in 1982. In June, 2021, and again a month later, toxic hydrogen sulfide began leaking from the ground within Wheatley; this led to the installation of gas detectors. On August 26, the detectors sounded in the centre of town; as evacuation was in progress, a gas explosion occurred which destroyed buildings and seriously injured seven people. In November 2022, people and businesses affected by the explosion launched a proposed

class action lawsuit A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...

against the Corporation of the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and HSE Integrated Ltd., which provided the gas involved in the explosion.

Tourism

Wheatley hosts an annual "Fish Festival" each civic holiday weekend, the first weekend of August. Featured at the festival are the Big Boyz Fishing Derby, Smoked Fish Contest, Famous Yellow Perch and Broasted Chicken Dinner (all you can eat)
Two Creeks Concerts
Parades
Wheatley Idol
as well as other community events. The town also celebrates St. John the Baptist celebration in June, as well as outdoor summer concerts located at Two Creeks Conservation Area every Sunday during the summer. Wheatley is located on the flight path for migratory birds and monarch butterflies and attracts birders from around the world annually.

Elementary & sports

Wheatley has an elementary public school, which hosts many different activities and sports. Wheatley has minor and senior soccer, sponsored by many local businesses. Wheatley is home to a 9-hole golf course, Talbot Trail Golf Club, was originally named Rolling Acres Golf Club at its incorporation in 1964 until the name was changed in 1981. Wheatley's arena, home to the Sharks hockey team, lies directly behind the public school.

Downtown & around

Wheatley's downtown offers restaurants, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 324, with its collection of militaria, a pharmacy, post office, library and bank. Wheatley's Remembrance Day events take place on the library grounds, as do other ceremonies.

References

External links

Chatham-Kent website
{{authority control Communities in Chatham-Kent