Amherstburg
| Amherstburg | |||
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 Richmond Street crossing |
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| Location in Ontario | |||
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| State : |
 Canada
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| Province : | Ontario | ||
| County : | Essex County | ||
| Coordinates : | 42 ° 6 ′ N , 83 ° 6 ′ W | ||
| Area : | 185.7 km² | ||
| Residents : | 21,556 (as of 2011) | ||
| Population density : | 116.1 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Time zone : | Eastern Time ( UTC − 5 ) | ||
| Mayor : | Wayne Hurst | ||
| Website : | www.amherstburg.ca | ||
Amherstburg is a city in Essex County , western Ontario , Canada . It has 21,556 inhabitants (2011) located near the mouth of the border between Canada and the United States forming Detroit River in the Lake Erie and about 25 km south of the city lie on the opposite side of the river Detroit ( Michigan ). It is named after the British General Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst .
history
In 1796 , the British Army built a fortification called Fort Amherstburg on the site of the later city, which was the headquarters of British troops in southwest Upper Canada during the war of 1812 with the United States . Major General Henry Procter had to vacate the fort in September 1813 after the defeat in the Battle of Lake Erie and retreat to the east. After the war, Fort Malden was built on this site , rebuilt from 1838-1840 and served as the central base of government troops during the Upper Canadian Rebellion from 1837 to 1839. In 1851 the place received city rights as a village with town powers .
In the late 19th century, Amherstburg was an end point of the so-called Underground Railway , a network that smuggled slaves who had fled from the southern United States into Canada. The North American Black Historical Museum located there commemorates this time . During the prohibition of the 1920s, Amherstburg was a starting point for alcohol smuggling.
Culture and sights
Local attractions include Fort Malden , the North American Black Historical Museum , the Gibson Gallery (an art gallery), the Park House Museum (a Victorian-era home), and The Commissariat , which depicts the British-Canadian Provincial Navy on the Great Lakes becomes.
sons and daughters of the town
- Seth Bullock (1849–1919), sheriff, United States Marshal and hotelier