Kent County, area 2,458 km² (949 sq mi) is a historic county in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The county was created in 1792 and named by

John Graves Simcoe Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...

in honour of the English

County A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. The county is in an

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a plain (an essentially flat landform) created by the deposition of sediment over a long period by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A ''floodplain'' is part of the process, bei ...

between

Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair () 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 day they first saw the lake. ...

, and

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) 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 also has the shortest avera ...

, watered by two

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Navigability is also referred to in the broader context of a body of water having sufficient under ...

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

s, the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

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 Chatham-Kent (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 103,988) is a Census divisions of Ontario#Single-tier municipalities, single-tier municipality in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is mostly rural, and its population centres are Chatham, Wallac ...

Original townships

Camden

Area: . Camden Township was conceded by treaty in 1790, and the Gore was surrendered by treaty in 1819. Surveyed in 1794 and named from the Earl of Camden. Also referred to earlier as Camden Township and Gore, and in the 1861 census as Camden & Gore Township. Containing some of the best farmland in Ontario, the township was originally parcelled as a grid with Concessions 1 to 7 running north-westward, Lots 1 to 18 running north-eastward and Concession A along the road to Thamesville.Southwestern Ontario Digital Archive: Map Of Camden Township 1882
Accessed 25 Dec 2021. The Gore of Camden is a rectangular section of land in the north and northwest area of the township. The Camden Gore contains Concessions 1 to 14 running eastward and Lots 1 to 10 running northward. The Gore was variously administered by Lambton and Kent counties as the population changed and road improvements were made.Ontario Heritage: Kent County Townships
Accessed 25 Dec 2021. Community centres:

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, Thamesville

Chatham

Area: Chatham Township was conceded by treaty in 1790, and the Gore was conceded by treaty in 1796. Surveyed in 1794. Also referred to earlier as Chatham Township and Gore. The township was originally parcelled as a grid with Concessions 1 to 19 running north-westward and Lots 1 to 25 running north-eastward.McGill University Library: Map of Chatham Township, Kent County
Accessed 25 Dec 2021. The Gore of Chatham is a rectangular piece of land in the north-northwest of the township. The Chatham Gore contains four Concessions running northward and 25 Lots running eastward. The Gore was variously administered by Lambton and Kent counties as the population changed and road improvements were made. Community centres: City of Chatham, the town of

Wallaceburg Wallaceburg ( 2021 population 10,323) is an unincorporated community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent in Southern (Southwestern) Ontario, Canada. Originally a small settlement, it was recognized for its significant contribution to the lum ...

Dover

Area: . Dover Township was named after

Dover, England Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

. It was surveyed in 1794 and incorporated in 1850. Within the boundaries of Dover along the Chenail Ecarté 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: . 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 Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

Howard

Area: . Surveyed in 1794 and named after Thomas Howard, Earl of Effingham, father-in-law of Sir Guy Carleton. Community centres: Morpeth,

Ridgetown Ridgetown is a community located in south-east Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus. It has a 2021 population of 2,797 and is one of many small farming communities in Chatham-Kent. The town mott ...

Orford

Area: . Surveyed in 1794 and named from the English port of Orford, Suffolk. Community centres:

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

Raleigh

Area: . Surveyed in 1794. Likely named for

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...

. Community centres:

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

Romney

Area: , Surveyed in 1794. Named for the Kentish port in England. Community centres: Wheatley

Tilbury East

Area: . Surveyed in 1794, named for the English Tilbury fort in Essex. Community centres:

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

Zone

Area: . 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 Bothwell () is a Protected area, conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland and part of the Greater Glasgow area. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton, ...

Municipalities (as of 1997)

* Town of Chatham: County Seat, largest population centre in the county. * Town of Blenheim: Incorporated in 1885. * Town of

: Incorporated in 1867. * Town of

: Incorporated in 1882. * Town of

: Incorporated in 1875. * Town of

: Incorporated as Village of Tilbury Centre in 1887 and Town of Tilbury in 1910. * Town of

: Incorporated as a village in 1875 and a town in 1896. * Village of Erie Beach * Village of Erieau * Village of

* 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

Former Municipalities

* Police Village of

: annexed by Tilbury East before amalgamation into Chatham-Kent.

Notable residents

* W. B. George (1899–1972), president of the

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; ) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction included senior ice hockey leagues and the Allan Cup, ...

and agriculturalist at Kemptville Agricultural School, was born in Highgate in Orford Township.

References

External links

1951 map of Kent County
{{Authority control Chatham-Kent Former counties in Ontario Southwestern Ontario States and territories established in 1792 1792 establishments in the British Empire Populated places disestablished in 1998 States and territories disestablished in 1998