Asa Townsend
Encyclopedia
Asa Townsend was an early settler in Westminster Township near what became the City of London, Ontario
. His lands ultimately became incorporated in London's Springbank Park. By the 1820s he removed westward to settle on the bank of the Ausable River in what later became Bosanquet Township in Lambton County
. Here he operated a salt well
. He and his wife—whose name is not known—are credited with being the first white settlers in the area of the present village of Arkona, Ontario
. Asa was still living at the time of the 1851 Bosanquet Township assessment, living just east of Arkona, apparently next door to an Ezekiel Townsend who was possibly his son. The Townsends had been joined in 1833 by settler Henry Utter who settled what would become the south-eastern corner of Arkona.
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
. His lands ultimately became incorporated in London's Springbank Park. By the 1820s he removed westward to settle on the bank of the Ausable River in what later became Bosanquet Township in Lambton County
Lambton County, Ontario
Lambton County is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county is located in Southwestern Ontario. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which flows into the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake...
. Here he operated a salt well
Salt well
A salt well is used to mine salt from subterranean caverns or deposits by the use of water as a solution to dissolve the salt or halite deposits so that they can be extracted by pipe to an evaporation process that results in a brine or dry product for sale or use...
. He and his wife—whose name is not known—are credited with being the first white settlers in the area of the present village of Arkona, Ontario
Arkona, Ontario
Arkona is a community located in the municipality of Lambton Shores in southwestern Ontario near the Lambton-Middlesex county line, situated beside the Ausable River, on Former Kings Highway 79 , Arkona is roughly half-way between Thedford, and Watford...
. Asa was still living at the time of the 1851 Bosanquet Township assessment, living just east of Arkona, apparently next door to an Ezekiel Townsend who was possibly his son. The Townsends had been joined in 1833 by settler Henry Utter who settled what would become the south-eastern corner of Arkona.
Sources
- St. Denis, Guy. Byron: Pioneer days in Westminster Township (London, Ontario: Crinklaw Press, 1985)
- Johnson, William. Arkona Through the Years (Forest, Ontario: Pole Printing, 1976).
- Bosanquet Township Assessment Rolls, 1851. Lambton Room (Archives), Lambton County Library Headquarters, Wyoming, Ontario.