Tecumseh, Ontario

Tecumseh
Town (lower-tier)
Town of Tecumseh

Tecumseh Town Hall

Seal
Motto: A community proud of the past, confident in the future - Une communauté fière de son passé et confiant dans son avenir
Tecumseh

Location in southern Ontario

Coordinates: 42°14′35″N 82°55′32″W / 42.24306°N 82.92556°W / 42.24306; -82.92556Coordinates: 42°14′35″N 82°55′32″W / 42.24306°N 82.92556°W / 42.24306; -82.92556[1]
Country  Canada
Province  Ontario
County Essex
Founded 1792
Government
 • Mayor Gary McNamara
 • Member of Parliament Cheryl Hardcastle (NDP)
 • Provincial Representative Percy Hatfield (NDP)
Area[2]
 • Land 94.69 km2 (36.56 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 23,610
 • Density 249.3/km2 (646/sq mi)
Time zone Eastern Time Zone (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern Time Zone (UTC-4)
Postal Code N8N
Area code(s) 519 and 226
Website www.tecumseh.ca
St Clair Beach

Tecumseh /tᵻˈkʌmsi/ is a town in Essex County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.[1] It is on Lake St. Clair east of Windsor and had a population of 23,610 at the 2011 census. It is part of the Windsor metropolitan area which is in turn part of the Detroit-Windsor metropolitan area.

Tecumseh enjoys long summers and mild winters. Originally a small Franco-Ontarian settlement with only a church, a school, a post office, a hotel and a general store, Tecumseh is now rapidly growing and offers many restaurants, shopping areas, medical facilities, and has a growing industrial and commercial sector.

Food processing is a major industry in Tecumseh, as Bonduelle owns a food processing plant near the heart of the town. The plant originally was Green Giant 1931 (Fine Foods of Canada) and Pillsbury Company. Green Giant sold in the late 1990s to Family Tradition Foods. Family Traditions sold the food processing plant to Carrière Foods in 2006. Carrière Foods was then purchased in 2007 by Bonduelle.[3]

The Tecumseh Corn Festival has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Festivals in Ontario by Festivals and Events Ontario.[4]

History

In 1792, Tecumseh, then known as Ryegate Postal Station, had only three families. Ryegate Postal Station was renamed in 1912 during the death centennial of Tecumseh, leader of the Shawnee Tribe who was killed at battle in the War of 1812. Tecumseh had a large Franco-Ontarian population. When nearby Windsor started to grow into the area, there arose conflict between the Loyalists and the Canadiens.

The creation of Tecumseh Road in 1838 and the establishment of the Great Western Railway opened up the area for settlement. The town became an important railway depot and stopover for travellers. County residents took horse and buggy into Tecumseh and then transferred onto the train, journeying by rail the rest of the way into Windsor. Several popular hotels were started in Tecumseh to accommodate travellers. The Bedell Hotel, the Soulliere Inn, the Hebert and the Hotel Perreault were some of the places most frequented by travellers and locals alike.

The French were for the most part the original settlers of Tecumseh, the majority of them descendants of the Frenchmen who had established their seigneural land holdings along the banks of the Detroit River in 1700s.

As the Town of Windsor grew, Tecumseh began to experience new blood when the overflow of immigrants coming to the city began to settle in the peripheral regions as well. Indicative of the change was the mix-up created by the introduction of the tomato to the area of Tecumseh. Many of the English residents of the community refused to touch the suspicious red vegetable believing it to be a ″Love Potion″ concocted by the amorous Frenchmen. The first post office was located on the northeast corner of Tecumseh and Lesperance and was operated by a Mr. Christie. Some of the first businesses in Tecumseh included a lumber mill operated by J.B.Cada; a grocery store operated by Arthur Cecile; a cheese factory on Banwell Road operated by Joseph Breault; a bakery owned by John Dugell; three butcher shops; a canning factory and a brewery eventually closed under Carling Company. In 1921 it was felt that Tecumseh was not getting its fair share of improvements in proportion to the taxes paid to the municipality of Sandwich East. A group of people headed by Malcolm Clapp petitioned the legislature to separate from the township and incorporate as the Town of Tecumseh with a population of 978. Dr. Paul Poisson was appointed as the first mayor of the town.The real growth in Tecumseh occurred in 1931 with the establishment of the Green Giant Factory as Fine Foods of Canada. Green Giant (now Bonduelle) is still located in Tecumseh and continues to employ full and part-time workers.

As the population grew, so did the demands for services. The Ontario Provincial Police started policing the Town in 1948 with 2 officers. In 1922 a fire chief was appointed although no fire department was in existence, the fires were fought by town volunteers.

In 1999, as part of a reorganization of Essex County, Tecumseh was merged with the Village of St. Clair Beach, and the Township of Sandwich South into the Town of Tecumseh. In 2003, the City of Windsor annexed approximately 23 square kilometres (8.9 sq mi) from the Town of Tecumseh. Now considered to be a bedroom community of Windsor, Tecumseh is often cited as an example of urban sprawl; new subdivisions have developed on some of Canada's most valuable agricultural land beginning in the late 1980s.

Demographics

Historical populations
YearPop.±%
1871200—    
1911300+50.0%
1921978+226.0%
19312,129+117.7%
19412,412+13.3%
19513,543+46.9%
19614,476+26.3%
19715,165+15.4%
19816,364+23.2%
199110,495+64.9%
199623,151+120.6%
200125,105+8.4%
200624,224−3.5%
201123,610−2.5%

Tecumseh has a population of 23,610 people, a decrease of 2.5% from the 2006 census count. The median household income in 2005 for Tecumseh was $90,206, which is above the Ontario provincial average of $60,455. Most of the population is of Franco-Ontarian descent.[5]

Mother tongue:

Aboriginal population:

Visible minority population characteristics:

Infrastructure

Schools

French Catholic Schools:

Bilingual Public School:

English Public Schools:

English Catholic Schools:

Transit

Tecumseh Transit is the municipal bus service, operated by First Student Canada, which commenced on December 21, 2009.[6] A connection has been made to Transit Windsor services at Tecumseh Mall.

Culture

Tourism and events

Tecumseh hosts many special events throughout the year.

Art of Eating Festival

Christmas in Tecumseh

Tecumseh Corn Festival

It is also home to the Tecumseh Historical Museum, run by the Tecumseh Historical Society.

It welcomes community involvement on both organization and participation in celebrating with the community.

Notable residents

Sister towns

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Tecumseh". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  2. 1 2 "Census Profile: Tecumseh". 2011 Census data. Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  3. ↑ http://bonduelle.ca/en/groupe_bonduelle/bonduelle/historique.php
  4. ↑ "Top 100 Ontario Festivals Program". Festivals and Events Ontario. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Tecumseh community profile". 2006 Census data. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  6. ↑ Tecumseh Transit

External links

 United StatesMichigan Grosse Pointe Park
Lake St. Clair		 United StatesMichigan Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe
Lake St. Clair		 Lake St. Clair
Walpole Island 46
Windsor
LaSalle		 Lakeshore
   Tecumseh  
Amherstburg Essex
Essex County, Ontario, Canada
Transportation

Current Provincial Highways: Highway 3 • Highway 77 • Highway 401

Former Provincial Highways: Highway 2 • Highway 39 • Highway 98 • Highway 107 • Highway 114

Essex County Roads: County Roads • Windsor Suburban Roads

Railways: Essex Terminal Railway • Windsor Subdivision • Chatham Subdivision • CASO Subdivision

Municipalities Amherstburg • Essex 1 • Kingsville • Lakeshore • LaSalle • Leamington • Pelee • Tecumseh • Windsor 2
Communities Belle River 3 • Colchester • Comber • Cottam • Deerbrook • Emeryville • Harrow 3 • Maidstone • Malden Centre • McGregor • Oldcastle • Puce • River Canard • Ruthven • St. Clair Beach3 • St. Joachim • Seacliffe • Stoney Point • Windsor • Woodslee
Attractions and Parks Point Pelee National Park • Fort Malden National Historic Park • Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary • Colasanti's Tropical Gardens • ERCA • Chrysler Canada Greenway • Trans-Canada Trail
Geography Bois Blanc Island • Detroit River • East Sister Island • Fighting Island • Middle Island • Peche Island • Pelee Island • Point Pelee
1 County seat. 2 Separated Municipality, as of 1998. 3 Formerly a separate municipality, merged into another as of 1998.
See also: List of municipalities in Ontario • Detroit, Michigan
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.