Chatham, Ontario
| Chatham-Kent | |
|---|---|
| Municipality (single-tier) | |
| Municipality of Chatham-Kent | |
Thames River in Chatham
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| Nickname(s): The Maple City, The Classic Car Capital of Canada | |
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| Coordinates: 42°24′00″N 82°11′00″W / 42.40000°N 82.18333°WCoordinates: 42°24′00″N 82°11′00″W / 42.40000°N 82.18333°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
|
| Province |
 Ontario
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| County (historical) | Kent |
| Formed by political merger | 1998 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Randy Hope |
| • Governing body | Chatham-Kent Municipal Council |
| • MPs |
Bev Shipley (CPC) Dave Van Kesteren (CPC) |
| • MPPs |
Rick Nicholls (OPC) Monte McNaughton (OPC) |
| Area | |
| • Land | 2,458.09 km2 (949.07 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 198 m (650 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Municipality | 103,671 (Ranked 50th) |
| • Density | 42.2/km2 (109/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 44,074 (Chatham) 10,163 (Wallaceburg) 4,700 (Tilbury) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC−5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) |
| Postal code | N7L - N7M |
| Area code(s) | 519 226 |
| Website | chatham-kent.ca |
Chatham-Kent (2011 population 103,671) is a single-tier municipality in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Mostly rural, its population centres are Chatham, Wallaceburg, Tilbury, Blenheim, Ridgetown, Wheatley and Dresden. The current Municipality of Chatham-Kent was created in 1998 by the merger of Kent County and its municipalities.
The former city of Chatham began as a naval dockyard in the 1790s, as it straddles the Thames River. The town was named after the Earl of Chatham, William Pitt (the Elder). It was built as a naval dockyard, a characteristic shared by Chatham, Kent, England. In England, the name Chatham came from the British root ceto and the Old English ham thus meaning a forest settlement. Following the American Revolution and the Gnadenhutten Massacre, a group of Christian Munsee Indians settled in what is now Moraviantown.
In the War of 1812, the Battle of the Thames took place between Moraviantown and Thamesville on October 5, 1813.
During the 19th century, the area was part of the Underground Railroad. As a result, Chatham-Kent is now part of the African-Canadian Heritage Tour. Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site is a museum of the Dawn Settlement, established in 1841 by Josiah Henson near Dresden as refuge for the many slaves who escaped to Canada from the United States.John Brown, the abolitionist, planned his raid on the Harpers Ferry Virginia Arsenal in Chatham and recruited local men to participate in the raid. The small village of North Buxton, part of the African Canadian Heritage Tour, also played an important role in the Underground Railroad.
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