First Settlement

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Just a little note about the beginning of our little city.
    Chatham is located in the southwestern corner of Ontario lying between Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair just off the 401 highway.

   Chatham area was first settled back in 1793 when Sir. John Graves Simcoe the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada designated that the area at the forks of the river (now known as the Thames River and McGregors Creek) as a military post and the first family bought a piece of land.
There were only a few people living here when they had the Civil War of 1812, but by the year of 1851, the town had increased to 2000 people, and incorporated as a village, and in the year 1855 Chatham became a town.

   The town was first built up along the south shore of the river and creek, and the roads were of mud and almost impassible in the spring and fall, and after 1855 King St. the business district was paved with cobblestone, brought in from Pelee Island on Lake Erie. In 1869 the cobblestone was replaced with wood and asphalt, which Chatham was one of the first in Canada, to have this kind of road surfacing.

Original Post: http://www.angelfire.com/ca5/picturesofmyfamily/Chatham.html

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