Windsor, Ontario
"As the chief port-of-entry to the region opposite Detroit, the Town of Windsor (now the downtown area) was already catching up to Sandwich in population when the Great Western Railway chose Windsor as its termination point in 1854. The arrival of the railway also marked the beginning of significant industrial development in Windsor. Due to numerous fires and the continuous redevelopment of the area over the decades, few of the early buildings in downtown Windsor still exist, but a number of Late Nineteenth Century and Early Twentieth Century buildings remain, including in particular a number of larger, upper income houses in areas immediately adjacent to the downtown area.
Learn about heritage buildings on Victoria Avenue in our Victoria Avenue Walking Tour
Learn about City Hall Square in our Heritage Garden Brochure
Historic postcard showing Hiram Walker buildings
The arrival of the railway in 1854 also sparked the foundation of the third of Windsor's oldest settlements, Walkerville. In 1857, Hiram Walker established his distillery at the point east of downtown, where the Great Western Railway first met the waterfront. On his lands, running south of the river, Walker planned a complete town including provisions for industry, commerce, residences and agriculture (Walker Farms). The housing, a large part of which was built by Walker's own contractors, ranged from E. Chandler Walker's estate of Willistead (1906), built in the style of a Tudor manor house, to blocks of row housing for his industrial workers (1880s). Walkerville is a unique example in Canada of a Victorian new town developed by private capital, inspired by that peculiar combination of business and philanthropic motives that characterized Victorian enterprise. Fortunately, many of the early Walkerville buildings still survive in excellent condition.
Learn about Walkerville in our Walkerville Walking Tour or visit the The Walkerville Times
Historic postcard showing Ford City town hall
Although the Ford Motor Car Company was established in Windsor as early as 1904 to gain the benefit of Imperial trade preferences, it was the period during and following World War I which saw the auto industry assume predominance in the City. An area known as "Ford City" was developed around the industrial complex. Numerous large residences were built overlooking the river at that time.
Learn more about Ford City in our Ford City Walking Tour
The automotive industry changed Windsor from a relatively slow growing collection of border communities to a rapidly growing, modern industrial city. By the early 1930s, the separate Border Cities of Windsor, East Windsor (Ford City), Walkerville and Sandwich amalgamated politically into a single community with a population of over 100,000.
In the Second World War, industrial production increased dramatically, attracting many new workers and resulting in substantial residential growth within the city and in the surrounding townships. The Town of Riverside, incorporated in 1921, had already absorbed some of the spillover. In 1966 the City annexed the Towns of Riverside and Ojibway, and parts of Sandwich East, Sandwich South and Sandwich West Townships.
Windsor rose to pre-eminence in the area at an early date, and with a population of about 200,000 at the dawn of the 21st century, it has continued to be, by far, the largest urban centre in the county."
Source:
www.citywindsor.ca/residents/historyofwindsor/Pages/default.aspx 
