Stunning waterfront, multicultural vibe, relaxed lifestyle - retirees agree Leamington deserves 'best places to live' title
MERSEA TOWNSHIP, which is now part of Leamington, was
surveyed in 1792. It was named after Mersea, a finely wooded island in a bay of
the North Sea off Essex County, England.
Except for a few military posts in the Amherstburg area, Essex County
was largely unknown, comprised primarily of a great level plain, covered with almost
impenetrable forest and a fair share of swampland.
LEAMINGTON ITSELF HAD its beginnings in about 1835, when
Alex Wilkinson started a farm on land north of Talbot Road on both sides of the
Mersea Sideroad (now Erie Street). To accommodate travellers along Talbot Road,
a store and post office was established just east of “Wilkinson’s Corners” as
the tiny settlement was known.
Three years later, Leonard Wigle opened the first tavern in the district
and its fame spread rapidly. Then came a grist mill along Hillman Creek and,
later, a sawmill. Things were looking up.
NOT LONG AFTER, in 1876, Leamington was incorporated as a
village. It was a crossroads hamlet with about 300 residents. Along with
lumber, the village was known for its fish. There were several docks, and fish
were said to be so plentiful in Lake Erie that sturgeon could be speared from
the shore.
IN 1899, NINE YEARS after Leamington was incorporated as a
village, council was actively seeking new industry, so it passed a bylaw
providing special inducements to manufacturers. The offer of free water, free
gas, exemption from taxation, fire protection and, in some cases, a free
building site, eventually attracted the H.J. Heinz Company, which celebrated
100 years in Leamington in 2009.
RAND MCNALLY, THE world-famous road atlas maker, recognized the marsh boardwalk in Point Pelee National Park, in east Leamington, in its Best of the Road feature for 2011. The boardwalk winds its way through towering cattails, past marshlands filled with turtles, snakes and birds, and has been entertaining visitors for nearly half a century. It’s the second recent recognition the park has received from an international organization:
Birder’s World Magazine named it the second-best place on the continent to observe warblers.
Leamington, the Lake Erie town that is proud to call itself
Tomato Capital of Canada, is a growing community where the great outdoors is
celebrated year-round.
Home to the world-famous Point Pelee National Park, the
multicultural town of about 31,000 people boasts one of the most scenic
waterfronts in Ontario. A wide flower-bordered promenade leads from the beach
and ferry dock over to an attractive park with sculpted grassy hills and a
full-service municipal marina, where visitors and locals alike come to relax on
a large covered patio to watch the yachts pull in and out of the harbour.
Summer at the waterfront is the place to be, with the sounds
of live bands floating on the evening air from Marina Park and Erie Street’s
two popular restaurant/bars, where the town’s famous perch and pickerel
platters are the most requested menu items.
Seacliff Beach a short stroll to boardwalk, marina
Across the street, folks in bathing
suits stroll up from the large sandy beach at Seacliff Park, on the west side
of the dock, to order a burger or ice cream cone from the same food stand that
has been serving up refreshments for five decades.
Seacliff Park, 20 acres of wide-open space, trees and beach,
is undergoing redevelopment to return it to its former glory. The park,
acquired by the municipality in 1907 for $4,000, at one time was home to
dancing in the now-gone pavilion, concerts at the now-gone bandshell and ball
games on the now-gone fields. While the beach is popular — it’s one of the
cleanest in Essex County — the park, with its lack of facilities, is currently underused,
except in August, when the wildly popular annual Tomato Festival is held there. Council hopes the $3.4-million park revitalization project, interrupted when a tornado ripped through in June 2010,
will attract residents and visitors there year-round.
It was the multimillion-dollar harbour redevelopment
project, which began in the mid-1980s, that fuelled the development of
townhouses and highrise condominiums on the east side of the dock along Robson
Road. The fact so many people now live within walking distance of Marina Park
has helped to make Leamington’s waterfront a real people place, and added to
the success of annual festivals such as Arts at the Marina and A Taste of
Leamington.
Sturgeon Creek site of marina, campground
Plans are under way to showcase Leamington’s maritime
history by relocating part of the bow of the shipwrecked N.J. Nessen to a glass
display case on the waterfront, near where it sank off Leamington’s shores in
1929. According to ErieQuest, which promotes the area’s marine heritage, more
than 275 ships have sunk in the shallow Pelee Passage since the mid-1800s.
Fifteen of the 50 known shipwreck locations off Leamington have been marked
with buoys so divers can find them.
Heading east along Robson, toward the road to Point Pelee National
Park, you’ll pass by a mix of cottages and brand new homes with spectacular
views of the lake, along with a popular public golf course, around which a
housing development is planned.
Turning right onto Point Pelee Drive, just
before the bridge on your left you’ll notice a fishery and a private marina on
scenic Sturgeon Creek, where you can rent a boat for the day. From the bridge,
you can catch glimpses of a seasonal campground in the distance, surrounded by
farm fields. On your right, there’s a stunning view of the lake.
Road to Point Pelee National Park lined with cottages
Up the street, there’s the beautiful Mersea Park, a
14.5-acre municipal gem across from the lake, where a small public beach is the
perfect spot to cool off while enjoying a family reunion picnic under the
park’s large shaded shelter. The main event, Point Pelee National Park, is a
short drive away, past rows and rows of four-season homes and cottages, many
owned by Americans from nearby Michigan.
A pit stop for migrating song birds and Monarch butterflies,
the park is host to thousands of birders who come each May for the Festival of
the Birds. Point Pelee National Park is a lush Carolinian forest oasis that
sits at the southern tip of Canada, just south of the 42nd parallel,
the same latitude as northern California.
It is where you’ll find 20 kilometres
of sandy beach, hiking and cycling trails galore and an observation tower that
serves up magnificent views of the marsh boardwalk and Lake Erie beyond. You
can rent a canoe or kayak for a leisurely trip around the marsh. Don’t forget
your camera. And don’t forget to walk or take the free shuttle to the famous
“Tip” — the thin strip of land that juts into the lake, offering breathtaking
panoramic views.
From the tip, you can see Pelee Island (
see separate profile on Pelee Island), a mostly
agricultural community that attracts thousands of visitors each year for its
beaches, fishing, wine-tastings, scenic bicycle trails, spectacular views and
peace and quiet. Getting there is a destination in itself. A modern car ferry
leaves Leamington at the foot of Erie Street for the 90-minute boat ride to
Pelee Island, which lies in Canadian waters. The ferry also will take you on a
105-minute journey to Sandusky, Ohio on the U.S. side of Lake Erie on a shared
schedule with neighbouring Kingsville. The sunsets on the way home are the best!
Hillman Marsh, Kopegaron Woods great for scenic walk
The southeastern side of Leamington is also where you’ll find
Hillman Marsh, with its small swimming beaches on the lake side and five
kilometres of trails around the sensitive marshland habitat, home to herons and
bald eagles. From here, it’s just a short drive to the Kopegaron Woods, a
47-acre Carolinian woodland, and east to Wheatley, the Lake Erie town just
inside the Chatham-Kent border.
Leamington recently donated a 22-acre parcel of land between
Point Pelee National Park and the Hillman Marsh Conservation Area to the
University of Windsor, which is developing the Pelee Environmental Research
Centre. Meanwhile, the town and the Essex Region Conservation Authority are
working out details for the development of a nature reserve in the area. The
$113-million project would link the marsh and the national park, which at one
time were joined.
On the west side of Leamington’s borders, there is more
coastline to enjoy, with waterfront towns such as Kingsville, Amherstburg and
LaSalle fun to explore — along with plenty of wineries — on the one-hour drive
to Windsor and the U.S. border at Detroit.
The spectacular natural environment and waterfront lifestyle
enjoyed here is just one of the reasons Leamington was named Canada’s "best
place to live" by
MoneySense magazine in 2006.
But there’s more to this town than water.
Leamington's economy happily in the red
As the “Tomato Capital of Canada” title suggests,
Leamington’s economy runs on the colour red. Red for the tomato-based products
manufactured at the H.J. Heinz company, a fixture in the centre of town since
1909. Many of the processing tomatoes used by Heinz are grown in local fields.
However, it’s Leamington’s greenhouse industry, started by mostly Italian
immigrants after the Second World War, that has earned the town its title. And
Leamington wants everyone to know about it — the tourist information booth
downtown is a large fiberglass tomato, while the town’s water tower, which can
be seen for miles around, is also the colour and shape of a giant tomato.
Principal crops grown under glass include tomatoes,
cucumbers and peppers. There is also a growing greenhouse “floriculture”
industry here. With more than 1,500 acres of production under glass, Leamington
and neighbouring Kingsville have the largest concentration of greenhouses in
North America.
It’s fun to travel around to the various farms and roadside
stands to buy up bagfuls of fresh local fruit and vegetables right into the
fall.
It’s the thriving agricultural industry that gives
Leamington its multicultural flavour, something usually found only in large
cities. More than 3,000 migrant workers, mostly from Mexico and the Caribbean,
come here for seasonal work. That means you’ll find authentic Mexican and
Caribbean restaurants and food stores here, along with the many specialty items
catering to the large Portuguese and Italian populations. Leamington also has a
large Mennonite population, many of whom are farmers.
Caldwell First Nation plans suburban reserve
Leamington bakeries may soon be serving bannock alongside
Portuguese rolls, following the January 2010 announcement that the Caldwell
First Nation, in one of the largest land claim settlements in Canadian history,
was offered $105 million to establish an urban reserve in Leamington. The
Caldwells, who have 285 members, including about 50 in the Leamington area,
plan to buy land from willing sellers to develop a subdivision-type reserve.
Under the agreement, the band gave up its claim to land between Windsor and
London south of the Thames River, including Point Pelee National Park.
With the town’s award-winning promotion video attracting
both families and retirees to Leamington, the signs of growth are everywhere,
with new subdivisions and new commercial areas popping up all over. Even the
town has taken out a building permit: having outgrown its municipal offices in
the heart of the commercial district, it is now building a new $9-million
headquarters.
Plans are also in the works to re-energize the eclectic, but
aging, uptown core, which, unlike most small towns, is filled with cars and
people almost every night of the week.
The Leamington Arts Centre, located uptown in the old post
office on Talbot Street West, has just completed a renovation of its
first-floor gallery space. The centre, home to the South Essex Arts
Association, features the works of local and national artists and artisans. It
is also home to the ErieQuest maritime collection, the Heinz memorabilia
exhibit of historic artifacts and the “Henry Collection” — 350 items of world
art objects — donated to the town in the 1960s.
Live theatre available year-round
The Sun Parlour Players, the local community theatre group,
is nearby in the former Bank of Montreal building, having recently found the
permanent home after performing in various schools and church basements since
2001. The Pelee Days Inn holds professional dinner theatre throughout the year.
On the real estate front, recent listings for
waterfront homes in Leamington included a two-bedroom 850-square-foot condo
near the marina boardwalk for $69,000, and a 1,500-square-foot condo in the
same building, but with a lake view, for $173,900. Listings for single-family
homes included a one-bedroom plus den cottage on Lake Erie for $79,900, and a
two-storey three-bedroom house with panoramic views of the lake and marsh for
$399,000.