The subject property is located on Part of Lots 93 and 94, Concession 1 Petite Cote, in the Township of Sandwich, Essex County, Ontario. In the 1881 Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of Essex (H. Belden & Co.), the subject area within Lots 94 and 93 had no listed owner.1 In 1885, the Lake Erie, Essex and Detroit River Railway Company was formed and a few years later, the company bought over some of the right-of-way on the southern section of the subject property.1, 2

By 1890, Walkerville had obtained town status and was a self-sufficient model town. The 1890 Fire Insurance Plan shows Grand Trunk Railway Western Division and Lake Erie, Essex, & Detroit River Railway (later ownership changed to Canadian National Railway, Pere Marquette Railway, and Chesapeake & Ohio Railway) rail lines over the subject property. Also seen on the Fire Insurance Plan are the railroad turntable as well as a water tower, a hotel, a roundhouse and other structures.

Turntable (large circle) identified in portion of 1890 Walkerville Fire Insurance Plan, Sheet 3

1 "Revised Report: Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment." Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions, September 12, 2019

2 Brode, M.J.T. "Connected: How the Railroads Built Windsor". Print Works, Windsor, 2012.