ONTARIO
Sandwich
NO PART OF THE FOLLOWING
ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHS
MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT
PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR ©
This area, just outside of present-day central Windsor, Ontario sported several parks during its history. Each is presented in its own link at the end of this article, but this section will give an overview of the area.
The township of Sandwich was constituted in 1788 and 70 years later in 1858, it became a town. The pleasure parks of the area got their start quite by accident. It had been noticed that surface oil and salt were seen in the lowlands of the south section of the town. John Gauthier, a prominent businessman of the town, suggested an oil company be formed to drill on his property in that area. Prominent citizen, Miles Cowan, convinced the mayor and several other leading men to form The Sandwich Petroleum Oil Company in 1866. Shares sold for $100. Many of the businesses and private citizens of the town bought into the company.
Drilling equipment was brought in from Montreal and began to bore on Gauthier's property. After a time, the well reached 275 meters - but no oil! However, during one drilling session, a pocket of pressurized mineral water, of which the main ingredient was sulphur, was reached. It shot up the drill hole and spouted almost 10 meters into the air. Word spread and thousands came to see. The area was dubbed The "Sandwich Mineral Springs".
So many came that Gauthier erected a large, brick hotel to accommodate the crowds. A bath house was built, an advertising campaign launched, and many came from all over the continent to bath in the mineral waters and enjoy the area. A ferry landing in Windsor became the stopping-off point for the area and bus and taxi routes were established between the ferry and Springs. Rates were 10 cents each way. A boost to the area was the fact that at that time, there were no other pleasure parks in the region.
To make it even easier for Americans to reach the area, a canal was dug from Russell Street, near the Springs, to The Detroit River. A line of ferries was established with the fare from Detroit's Woodward Avenue terminal to The Springs being 25 cents, round trip. With a direct route established, at the peak, over 20,000 might attend on a Sunday. A date is unclear, but one source states ferry service began in 1875.
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Sandwich Mineral Springs Canal circa 1880s |
The oil being a bust, meant that the company was in effect running a pleasure resort. One company executive, John Clark wanted to run this business his own way and bought up the interests of the main shareholders. However, Gauthier, who was doing well, did not want to sell. Arguments over the running of the business resulted in John Clark arranging for eight boulders to be placed at the canal's entrance. This was discovered after a boat ran aground on these rocks. It was released but had to return to Detroit, with that business being lost. Gauthier sued Clark and won, with the fine being 1 shilling and the removal of the rocks at Clark's expense. There is no word if Gauthier received the $1000 he claimed in damages.
At some point, the resort changed hands and grew in complexity, but it is not currently known when this occurred, nor why Gauthier sold out. One source alludes to the first change happening in 1868, but it's unclear. Regardless, at some point at or before 1885, the area became known as Manhattan Beach.
Eventually, the oil company dissolved and the property was sold back to Gauthier in 1891. By then, the sulphur had run out and The Springs had lost their drawing capacity. Still, though, the parks continued off & on for a number of decades.
Here are the parks associated with this area in chronological order:
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Thanks to The Township of Sandwich, Past and Present (1909)
by Frederick Neal for details on The Springs.
Thanks to Paul Lindsay of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia for the image scan. Here is more information on The -Sandwich Mineral Springs. |
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Closed Canadian Parks Index
