Essex County, Ontario is the southernmost region of Canada with one of the longest growing seasons in the nation, unique outdoor activities and fascinating historic sites. The Lake Erie shore and Pelee Island viticulture areas offer 14 wineries as of 2023.
Conservative Mennonites have resided in Essex County since 1786. They emigrated to Ontario (then known as Upper Canada) from the United States after the American Revolution in 1776. They came from Pennsylvania, home to Mennonite immigrants since 1683.
Essex and much of Ontario's Niagara Peninsula served as a terminus for a vast Underground Railroad which led fugitive slaves north across abolitionist states to Canada. Ohio in particular bordered both slavery in Kentucky and freedom across Lake Erie, placing its routes among the shortest and most popular paths to freedom.
Today, major industries range from agriculture (a former Heinz factory cans tomato juice in Leamington) to auto manufacturing (Chrysler operates both in Windsor and across the river in suburban Detroit). The region is one endpoint for the Windsor-Quebec corridor, one of the most populous regions in the nation.
There is a small airport in Windsor (Ontario).
There are inter-city and cross-border bus services to Windsor, but not to other centres in the region.
From the United States:
It is advisable to use cars, when possible. Public transit in Essex is non-existent except for in Windsor and Tecumseh (both have their own bus systems).
A total solar eclipse on Monday 8 April 2024 clips the south edge of the County at 3:13PM local time and lasts almost two minutes. It's visible from Kingsville, Pelee Point and Pelee Island, with the chances of a clear sky maybe 35%. The track of totality is northeast from Mexico and Texas to Ohio, straddling the Canada–New England border through Lakes Erie and Ontario. It misses the Canadian shore of Lake Erie until Hamilton and the Niagara Peninsula, then continues across Maine, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
As the largest city, Windsor is the focus of the region's cultural life, with an art gallery, a science museum, a Serbian Heritage Museum, and several historic districts.
The Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Museum will appeal to those inte in old gas and steam-powered engines and antique tractors.
Amherstburg has several historic sites, including a War of 1812 fort, a military museum, a museum about enslaved Americans who found freedom at the end of the Underground Railroad, and an old navy yard.
Kingsville has a heritage village and transportation museum, and Colasanti's Tropical Gardens which exhibit tropical plants and animals.
See also: Wine Regions of Ontario
Point Pelee National Park is one of Canada's smallest national parks, attracts approximately 300,000 human visitors each year, and hundreds of thousands of migrating birds of hundreds of species.
The Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary in Leamington is another good choice for birders.
Because of the region's temperate climate, it is home to many wineries, many of which provide tours and tastings. See the listings in the Essex, Kingsville, and Amherstburg articles.
Kingsville Folk Music Festival, in August, puts on world-class folk, acoustic and world music, with an emphasis on Canadian artists.
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