Heritage and History

Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac, dispatches French soldiers from Fort Pontchartrain (now the City of Detroit, Michigan) to explore the southern shoreline of Lake St. Clair. They observe what is now the Puce area of Lakeshore and then proceed eastward until they reach what their commander describes as Quelle Belle Riviere (What a beautiful river!). And so was named the former Town which grew up along the lake and inland at that location. Belle River's first settler is recorded in 1741.

 

The War of 1812 was a particularly tumultuous time for South Western Ontario. The American Army, wishing to cut off the supplies into Canada burned down the Lighthouse. It was rebuilt, stronger, made from local stone and manned by the Cartier family. Three generations of direct descendents of explorer Jacques Cartier are noted to have been the keepers from 1814 to 1950.

Today the Lighthouse stands at 53 feet. The original gas lanterns have been replaced with an electric light and the foundation has been stabilized. Nearby the Lighthouse keepers residence is believed to have been built at the turn of the century, over 100 years ago. The Canadian Coast Guard Search and Rescue team now resides in the Lighthouse keepers residence. Efforts in recent years to preserve the integrity and history of the Lighthouse have proved to be a challenge. The Lighthouse is an ongoing project for special interest groups, whose objectives are preservation and investment in historical sites, artifacts and lighthouses. Perhaps one day there will be a museum established near the Lighthouse Cove Lighthouse, to display the rich marine history associated with this site.

British surveyor Patrick McNiff makes calculations at what would become the Maidstone Township area of Lakeshore. The area is covered with thick forests and, in the interior, with many areas of swamp and marsh. Much of the region is referred to as the St. Clair Flats.

Jay's Treaty clarifies the border between British North America and the United States. French settlement of the future City of Windsor and Municipality of Lakeshore is encouraged, and the task of clearing forest land for agriculture leads to extensive lumber cutting, processing and shipping to nearby Detroit.

The settlers' devotion to the Roman Catholic faith sows the seeds of today's St. Simon and Jude Parish. 

Water driven sawmills and later, steam driven wood and grain mills appear along area creeks and rivers. Settlers are frantically clearing the dense forests to allow the planting of crops. The Lakeshore region has a brisk lumber business for decades until the Essex Peninsula has relatively few stands of natural timber left.

As the land is cleared, promising agricultural activity takes hold. This remains a prime activity, especially in the areas of Lakeshore which were formerly Maidstone, Rochester, and Tilbury North and Tilbury West Townships.

The first Black residents of the region were slaves owned by French settlers who moved from Detroit after Jay's Treaty of 1796. There are also records of Black slaves fleeing to the Maidstone area in the early years of the 19th Century. But when the slave trade is abolished in the British Empire in 1833, the Lakeshore region becomes increasingly sought after as a sanctuary. A spirited and lively Black community grows up and flourishes still, especially in the Puce area of the former Maidstone Township, where the famous John Freeman Walls historic site is operated by his descendents. The Lakeshore region becomes one of the prominent terminals on the storied Underground Railroad..a network of anti-slavery activists helping thousands of Black people to "Follow The North Star" to Canada and freedom.

Henry Ford crosses the Detroit River and establishes The Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd. at Walkerville, which is only 20 km (12 miles) from Lakeshore. This is a prominent part of the automotive revolution which changes the entire character of life in the communities which are now included in Lakeshore. Senior and local governments show an increasing concern for the providing of paved roads and a reliable highway system linking community with community.

Ontario votes for a modified version of Prohibition; it forbids the public consumption of alcohol but ironically, not the manufacture or export of it. So Lakeshore's extensive water access makes it a favourite locale for the transport of liquor to the U.S.A. The time becomes one of the most storied eras in Lakeshore's history.

The region develops inventive and Roaring 20s style entertainment enterprises (how about a combination dance floor and sports venue out of doors?). It also attracts new industrial and agricultural interests; but after Black Tuesday, October 29th, 1929, the Lakeshore communities and much of the rest of the world are plunged into the
decade of the Great Depression.

Canada's participation in World War II shapes a generation, redefines sacrifice and brings a wrenching end to a desperate financial period.
Lakeshore people join in newfound prosperity but also share in the inevitable heartaches of wartime.

Post war reorganization and progress. Placing the Lakeshore communities on a peacetime footing brings with it the inevitable but promising challenges of population shift, booming development and an increased awareness of shifting economic priorities. For much of the Lakeshore region, agriculture remains predominant, but a trend toward industrial and commercial enterprise gains influence and acceptance.

The move toward government by region rather than by the more fragmented town and township system of the 19th Century is culminated in Essex County by the reduction in the number of municipal authorities from 17 to seven. The former Town of Belle River joins the former Townships of Maidstone, Rochester and Tilbury North and Tilbury West to form the new Municipality of Lakeshore. Services, from fire to water utilities, are joined under one civic government.