Living near the Canadian border means you have some great opportunities to learn about history from a different point of view than you'll get from your American history books and classes.
You can check out a number of historical markers describing events from the Canadian perspective by taking a quick walk along the riverfront just across from Detroit in Windsor, Ontario.
We recently visited the Windsor Community Museum at the historic Baby (pronounced "Bobby") House tucked in among a few city skyscrapers and learned about the Canadian experience during the War of 1812 and how that conflict led to developing Canada's strong solidarity and sense of national identity.
There are a handful of historic markers within a mile of the Baby House marker and further along the Detroit River.
We managed to visit a few of them on a cold and windy day.
- A marker within a few steps of the Baby House tells the story of The Battle of Windsor in 1838. This event took place during a largely failed rebellion against the British colony of Upper Canada, which included much of present-day southwestern Ontario. Pro-rebellion forces invaded Windsor near this spot, but pro-government forces repelled and captured the invaders. Subsequent executions and deportations of the invaders caused controversy on both sides of the border.
- Further along the riverfront, a marker commemorates the early French Settlement of the South Shore of the Detroit River. Officials of the New France government offered riverfront lots to settlers in an effort to encourage the development of a strong French presence along the river in the mid-1750s. Even as French control of the area ended by 1760, many influential French families like the Babys remained in the area and played an important role the development of Windsor, which boasts the longest history of continuous settlement in Ontario.
- The Siege of Detroit marker tells the story of the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, who led a group of Indian tribes in attacking British posts. The tribes lived peacefully with the French soldiers and settlers who arrived in the mid-1700s, but after the British took control of the area, relations between the native tribes and British forces went downhill. Chief Pontiac's forces attacked and held siege upon Detroit with many men from the Ottawa village on the south side of the Detroit River. The British prevailed after surviving a May through October siege and established generally peaceful relations with the tribes by 1765.
Hopefully we can return to Windsor soon (and on a much sunnier and warmer day!) to check out a few more chapters of Windsor and Detroit history along the Detroit River.
Read my story The Baby House spotlights Canadian history and identity in Windsor, Ontario to learn more about the Baby family and their role in Windsor's history, and check out Photo Friday: Yes, Canada is south of Detroit! for the story of another marker we found along Windsor's riverfront.
Want to learn more? Check out The Penguin History of Canada by Robert Bothwell, A Traveller's History of Canada by Robert Bothwell, or Uppermost Canada: The Western District and the Detroit Frontier, 1800-1850 by R. Alan Douglas.
© Dominique King 2012 All rights reserved
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