Introduction

Simcoe's Plan

War of 1812

Moravians

Baldoon Mystery

A Place of Refuge

Dresden

Elgin Settlement

Talbot Road

Bothwell's Boom

Civil War

Conclusion

Classic Coachworks

One of the greatest barriers to early settlement in Chatham-Kent was the swamps. Settlers couldn’t plant a potato, build cabins, or build roads on top of a bog. There was also the problem of malaria and swamp fever. The solution to this was to set up a complicated system of drainage ditches and levies to drain the water off of the land to make it habitable.