along the major rivers. By 1817 it is believed that there were nearly 1000 inhabitants in the Township of Sandwich, living in houses along the river (H. Belden & Co. 1881:7).
Because of its strategic position, the Sandwich and Windsor areas were of primary military concern throughout their early years. During the War of 1812 Sandwich was captured by the Americans who crossed the river from Detroit. American headquarters were later established in the Baby Mansion (Neal 1909:46). British troops eventually reclaimed the site and battled the Americans at Fort Detroit.
It is noted that in 1854, the original lands of Sandwich Township were divided when Windsor became an independent municipality under a village charter. Further municipal subdivision continued until 1861 resulting in the designations of the Town of Windsor, Town of Sandwich, Town of Walkerville and Townships of Sandwich East, Sandwich West and Sandwich South (Neal 1909:12). Lands that were to later become the Town of Sandwich were sold to the British Government in 1788 by the Chiefs of the Wyandottes and shortly thereafter surveyed into one acre lots for settlement. By 1909 the town constituted roughly 2,000 acres. The main residential blocks comprised about 600 acres and were situated running east to west between Russell Street and Peter Street and north to south from Detroit Street to End Street. Neal (1909:13) comments that the rest of the land remained as farm property.
Town of Sandwich
At the end of the American Revolution with the Treaty of 1783, the middle of the Detroit River became the international boundary. This lead to the founding of the first two towns along the Canadian side of Detroit River: Sandwich and Amherstburg. The Settlement of L’Assumption, which later became known as Sandwich, was chosen as the seat of government for the Western District. Amherstburg became the military post and naval station given its location at the entrance to the river (Lajeunesse 1960: cxvii).
In the summer of 1797, the President of the Executive Council, the Honourable Peter Russell, purchased 1,078 acres of land on the south side of the Detroit River at the Reserve at Huron Church. The land was to be made available for those who wished to move from Detroit and remain British citizens. The land purchased by Russell consisted of a triangular tract of land bounded on two sides by the river and the other by the church lands (Map 9). Excluded from the purchase were 61 acres of land along the river for use by the Huron and the improved lands of Wm. Hands and Thomas Pajot. Of the total purchase, a portion along the river was divided into one acre lots for town settlement. The town plot at this time ran from Detroit Street in the northeast to South Street in the southwest, with the three additional cross streets between being Mill Street, Huron Street (now Brock Street) and Chippewa Street. Three streets ran parallel to the river with two being named after the land buyer, Peter and Russell, and the third Bedford Street (now Sandwich Street) most likely named after Russell’s ancestors who were from Bedford County, England. The four corner lots at the junction of Huron and Bedford Streets (now Brock and Sandwich) were reserved for public use (Lajeunesse 1960: cxviii). The