Blenheim is a
small town in
Ontario with a
population of about 4,800. It's located in south-central
Chatham-Kent, near both
Lake Erie and
Rondeau Provincial Park. The town is also noted for
excellent freshwater fishing.
The region began to be
settled in the late 1700s, soon after the area was purchased from the
Indians by the
British.
Thomas Talbot, a
wealthy resident, set out to build
roads in southwestern Ontario in 1800, though the project was put on hold during the
War of 1812. Soon after the end of the
war,
settlers began to arrive, and Blenheim itself was founded between 1825 and 1850; it became an official town in 1885, though
development of the town was slowed by its location in the middle of very
dense forest. After the
timber was adequately cleared around 1900,
farming became the major factor in the town's
economy, though an
economic boom hit during
Prohibition, when many residents got involved with
rum-running.
In 1998, Blenheim and the rest of what used to be
Kent County were
amalgamated into the
Municipality of
Chatham-Kent.
Research from http://city.chatham-kent.on.ca/blenheim/
(I've never been to Blenheim. This writeup was part nodeshell challenge and part demonstration that even small towns are worthy of complete writeups.)