Delaware, Ontario
| Delaware | |
|---|---|
| Community | |
 Delaware
|
|
| Coordinates: 42°54′30″N 81°25′0″W / 42.90833°N 81.41667°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
|
| Province |
 Ontario
|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Area | |
| • Total | 97.24 km2 (37.54 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2,521 |
| • Density | 26/km2 (67/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Postal code | N0L 1E0 |
Delaware is a community located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of and outside of London, Ontario, Canada within Middlesex County. Delaware straddles the Thames River. Delaware is accessed by the old highway (Highway 2) linking London and Chatham and the freeway (Highway 402) linking Sarnia along with Port Huron and Toronto.
Delaware was originally populated by native Indians for centuries before recorded history. In 1615 when the Recollet missionary Reverend Father Joseph le Caron reached the Midland area, the whole vast territory cradled by the Detroit, St. Clair and Niagara Rivers was populated by a branch of the Hurons called the Attawandarons. The early French explorers named them the Neutrals, because of the Attawandaron neutrality between the Iroquois and Hurons in their on-going conflict. Their population may have been as high as sixty thousand, and they were settled in many villages and a few large towns, trading with both the Hurons to the north and the Iroquois to the south-east. The Attawandarons are recognized today for their skills in making fine flint instruments such as arrow heads.
The Thames River was originally called the Askunessippi or Antlered River by the Indians, but the French explorers named it La Tranche, followed by John Graves Simcoe’s version: The Thames. Regardless of its name, the River had been used as a major transportation route for centuries; by the time Simcoe first saw Delaware, Detroit had been established for almost a hundred years not far from the river’s foot at Lighthouse Cove in Lake St. Clair. In all probability the white man...adventurers like Brule, the traders, explorers, missionaries...had been up and down the river for more than a hundred and fifty years before Simcoe set foot in the Indian Village of Delaware.
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Wikipedia