Kent County, area 2,458 sq km (949 sq mi) is a historic county

Historic counties of Ontario

The Canadian province of Ontario has several historic counties, which are past census divisions that no longer exist today. Most historic counties either merged with other counties, or became regional municipalities or single-tier municipalities...

 in the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 province of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. Population in 2006 was 108,589.

The county was created in 1792 and named by John Graves Simcoe

John Graves Simcoe

John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...

 in honour of the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 County

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. The county is in an alluvial plain

Alluvial plain

An alluvial plain is a relatively flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms...

 between Lake St. Clair, and Lake Erie

Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...

, watered by two navigable stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

s, the Thames River

Thames River (Ontario)

The Thames River is located in southwestern Ontario, Canada.The Thames flows west through southwestern Ontario, through the cities of Woodstock, London and Chatham to Lighthouse Cove on Lake St. Clair...

 and the Sydenham River

Sydenham River

The Sydenham River is a river in Kent County, Lambton County and Middlesex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, flowing southwest from its source west of London, Ontario and emptying into Lake Saint Clair. The length of the river is and it drains a watershed of approximately 2,700 square...

.

On January 1, 1998, the county, its townships, towns, and Chatham were amalgamated into the single-tier city of Chatham-Kent

Chatham-Kent, Ontario

Chatham–Kent is a unitary authority in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Mostly rural, its centres of population are Blenheim, Chatham, Dresden, Ridgetown, Tilbury and Wallaceburg. Modern Chatham–Kent was created in 1998 by the merger of Kent County and its municipalities.- History :The former city of...

.

Camden

Area 40625 acres (164 km²). Surveyed in 1794 and named from the Earl of Camden

Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden

Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden was an English lawyer, judge and Whig politician who was first to hold the title of Earl of Camden...

. Community centres: (Dresden

Dresden, Ontario

Dresden is a community in southwestern Ontario, Canada, part of the municipality of Chatham-Kent. Dresden is best known as the home of Josiah Henson, the former U.S. slave whose life story was the inspiration for the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin...

, Thamesville

Thamesville, Ontario

Thamesville is a community in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the junction of former provincial Highways 2 and 21, between Chatham and London. Its name comes from the Thames River that flows nearby and the suffix -ville....

)

Chatham

Area 83964 acres (340 km²) Surveyed in 1794. Community centres: City of Chatham and (Wallaceburg

Wallaceburg, Ontario

Wallaceburg is an unincorporated community and town located in the municipality of Chatham-Kent in Southern Ontario, Canada. Originally a small settlement, it was recognized for its significant contribution to the lumber and boat building industries and strategic location along the banks of the...

)

Dover

Area 68617 acres (278 km²). Dover Township was named after Dover, England. It was surveyed in 1794 and incorporated in 1850. Within the boundaries of Dover along the Chenal Ecarte of the river St. Clair is the site of Lord Selkirk's

Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk

Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk was a Scottish peer. He was born at Saint Mary's Isle, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He was noteworthy as a Scottish philanthropist who sponsored immigrant settlements in Canada at the Red River Colony.- Early background :Douglas was the seventh son of Dunbar...

 Baldoon Settlement, established in 1803. Communities include Mitchell's Bay

Mitchell's Bay, Ontario

Mitchell's Bay is a community in Ontario....

, Grande Pointe and Pain Court.

Harwich

Area 88349 acres (358 km²). 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. (Blenheim

Blenheim, Ontario

Blenheim is a community located in south-central Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada, with a population of 4,800.- History :By 1783, there were French settlers in Detroit and Windsor. There were also settlers in the Niagara and Kingston region, but no real settlers to speak of in the Kent County region...

, Erieau, Erie Beach, Shrewsbury)

Howard

Area 58607 acres (237 km²). Surveyed in 1794 and named after Thomas Howard, Earl of Effingham, father-in-law of Sir Guy Carleton

Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester

Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, KB , known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Irish-British soldier and administrator...

. Community centres: (Morpeth

Morpeth, Ontario

Morpeth is a community in Southern Ontario, Canada that is between Blenheim and St. Thomas on Highway 3 in the municipality of Chatham-Kent. It is located less than two hours away from Windsor.-History:...

, Ridgetown

Ridgetown, Ontario

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 population of roughly 3,500 and is one of many small farming communities in Chatham-Kent.-History:...

)

Orford

Area, 49677 acres (201 km²). Surveyed in 1794 and named from the English port of Orford in Suffolk. Community centre. (Highgate)

Raleigh

Area 72100 acres (292 km²). Surveyed in 1794. Likely named for Walter Raleigh

Walter Raleigh

Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....

. Community centres: (Charing Cross)

Romney

Area 26193 acres (106 km²), Surveyed in 1794. Named for the Kentish port

New Romney

New Romney is a small town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to be silted up. New Romney was once a sea port, with the harbour adjacent to the church, but is now more than a mile from the sea...

 in England. Community centres: (Wheatley

Wheatley, Ontario

Wheatley is a community in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, within the municipality of Chatham-Kent. It lies about east of Leamington. Nearby parks include Two Creeks Conservation Area, which has 15 km of hiking and bicycling paths, Kopegaron Woods Conservation Area, Hillman Marsh Conservation...

)

Tilbury East

Area 54116 acres (219 km²). Surveyed in 1794, named for the English Tilbury fort in Essex. Community Centres: (Merlin

Merlin, Ontario

Merlin is a small farming community inhabited by 750 residents located in Southwestern Ontario. It lies five kilometres due north off the shores of Lake Erie in the municipality of Chatham-Kent.Merlin is the hometown of country music singer Michelle Wright....

, Tilbury

Tilbury, Ontario

Tilbury is a community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is located between Chatham and Windsor on Highway 401.-History:...

)

Zone

Area 27154 acres (110 km²). Separated from Oxford in 1821 to provide a special organizational district, "the zone", for the Indians of the Moravian Mission on the Thames. Community Center. (Bothwell)

Municipalities (as of 1997)

• City of Chatham
  Chatham, Ontario
  Chatham is the largest community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Formerly serving as the seat of Kent County, the governments of the former city of Chatham, the county of Kent, and its townships were merged into one entity known as the Municipality of Chatham-Kent in 1998.Located on...
  
  : County Seat, largest town in the county, at around 54,000.
• Town of Blenheim
  Blenheim, Ontario
  Blenheim is a community located in south-central Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada, with a population of 4,800.- History :By 1783, there were French settlers in Detroit and Windsor. There were also settlers in the Niagara and Kingston region, but no real settlers to speak of in the Kent County region...
  
  : Incorporated in 1885.
• Town of Bothwell
• Town of Dresden
  Dresden, Ontario
  Dresden is a community in southwestern Ontario, Canada, part of the municipality of Chatham-Kent. Dresden is best known as the home of Josiah Henson, the former U.S. slave whose life story was the inspiration for the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin...
  
  : Incorporated in 1882.
• Town of Ridgetown
  Ridgetown, Ontario
  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 population of roughly 3,500 and is one of many small farming communities in Chatham-Kent.-History:...
  
  : Incorporated in 1875.
• Town of Tilbury
  Tilbury, Ontario
  Tilbury is a community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is located between Chatham and Windsor on Highway 401.-History:...
  
  : Incorporated as Village of Tilbury Centre in 1887 and Town of Tilbury in 1910.
• Town of Wallaceburg
  Wallaceburg, Ontario
  Wallaceburg is an unincorporated community and town located in the municipality of Chatham-Kent in Southern Ontario, Canada. Originally a small settlement, it was recognized for its significant contribution to the lumber and boat building industries and strategic location along the banks of the...
  
  : Incorporated as a village in 1875 and a town in 1896.
• Village of Erie Beach
• Village of Erieau
• Village of Highgate
• Village of Thamesville
  Thamesville, Ontario
  Thamesville is a community in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the junction of former provincial Highways 2 and 21, between Chatham and London. Its name comes from the Thames River that flows nearby and the suffix -ville....
  
  
• Village of Wheatley
  Wheatley, Ontario
  Wheatley is a community in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, within the municipality of Chatham-Kent. It lies about east of Leamington. Nearby parks include Two Creeks Conservation Area, which has 15 km of hiking and bicycling paths, Kopegaron Woods Conservation Area, Hillman Marsh Conservation...
  
  
• 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

External links

• 1951 map of Kent County