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54-580: Middlesex Centre is a township in Middlesex County , in southwestern Ontario , Canada , north and west of London . The Corporation of the Township of Middlesex Centre formed on January 1, 1998, with the amalgamation of the former Townships of Delaware, Lobo, and London (not to be confused with the adjacent city of London ). It is part of the London census metropolitan area . Middlesex Centre

108-528: A 102-hour period (it snowed on 98 of those 102 hours). Arva is at the intersection of Provincial Highway 4 (Richmond Street) and Medway Road (7th Concession ). The community is the home of Medway High School , Centennial Central Public School, Tamarak tree farm, Weldon Park, the Arva Flour Mill and store, The MillHouse (local, natural and organic foods), a furniture store, a tack shop, a post office, and two churches, as well as personalities such as

162-571: A co-op independent telecom). The majority of the 16,000 residents of the Municipality of Middlesex Centre are identified as "Ilderton" in the telephone directories, with the exception of extreme southwest area of the Municipality (Komoka and Kilworth) who are assigned "London" telephone numbers out of the Hyde Park Exchange. In February 2014, Ilderton celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the local Post Office. The first postmaster, named

216-487: A crossing point for many railway lines and was formerly a railway hot spot featuring various hotels and development. Today, the Komoka Railway museum keeps the local railway history alive and features unique artifacts such as a 1913 Shay Steam Engine and a 1972 Grand Trunk Western caboose. There is an elementary school - Parkview Public School, and Providence Reformed Collegiate − a private Christian high school, and

270-709: A forest known as the sanctuary (in St. John's Estates); the bush runs along the creek and goes down into a camp site that at one time was quite popular. The demonym for someone from Arva is an Arvite. In the 19th century, Arva was a critical rest stop on the Underground Railroad , and home to several homes constructed as part of the Railroad. Birr is at the intersection of Highway 4 (Richmond Street) and 13 Mile Road. Despite its small size, Birr has maintained itself and supported various private business throughout

324-446: A gas bar. All the rest of Kilworth Heights is single-unit residential. "Old" Kilworth Heights, to the east, still relies on individual wells and septic tanks. "New" Kilworth Heights, to the west, receives water and septic services from Komoka. Recent residential development in the western part of Kilworth Heights is responsible for much of Middlesex Centre's population growth. Middlesex Centre experiences severe weather annually. In 1990,

378-556: A lower-tier municipality (if located in a county or regional municipality , i.e. in Southern Ontario ) or single-tier municipality (if located in a district, i.e. in Northern Ontario ). A township municipality may consist of a portion of one or more geographic townships united as a single entity with a single municipal administration. Often rural counties are subdivided into townships. In some places, usually if

432-490: A number of tourist destinations despite its small size. Delaware Speedway is a half-mile paved race track that is one of the oldest in Canada. The track hosts stock car racing every Friday night during the summer, as well as several Saturday and Sunday race features. The track has also hosted major concert events in the past including I Mother Earth and Matthew Good . The Longwoods Road Conservation Area features Skah-Nah-Doht,

486-486: A political unit called a rural municipality in general is 3 townships by 3 townships in size, or 18 miles squared, about 324 square miles (840 km ). Three municipalities in British Columbia , Langley , Esquimalt and Spallumcheen , have "township" in their official names but legally hold the status of district municipalities . Thames River (Ontario) The Thames River ( / t ɛ m z / )

540-470: A population density of 32.2/km (83.4/sq mi) in 2021. Township (Canada) In Eastern Canada , a township is one form of the subdivision of a county . In Quebec, the term is canton in French. The historic colony of Nova Scotia (present-day Nova Scotia, New Brunswick , and Prince Edward Island ) used the term township as a subdivision of counties and as a means of attracting settlers to

594-489: A recreated Iroquoian village complete with longhouses and tours, as well as a museum featuring exhibits of Iroquoian culture and archaeological artifacts. The park hosts a yearly native festival as well as a re-enactment of the Battle of Longwoods . Elginfield is at the corner of Highway 4 and Highway 7 , with the junction of Highway 23 just to the east. The University of Western Ontario operates an observatory near

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648-446: A seniors apartment complex, a restaurant, two convenience stores, two gas stations, and a garage, a DIY Car Wash, 24-hour fitness facility, three hair salons, florist, computer sales and repair business, a county library, medical centre, a nature trail, two pizza businesses, and three parks - one of which contains a splash pad for children, and numerous home businesses. As the community is surrounded mainly by agricultural land, industry in

702-399: Is called "Del-Ko-Brydge". The celebrations, which has been held every year since 1981, feature a free pancake breakfast, morning parade, events and competitions throughout the day, a baseball game at night with fireworks following the game. Kilworth Heights takes up most of the area between Komoka and London which is south of County Road 14 (Glendon Rd) and north of Komoka Provincial Park and

756-417: Is close by, as well as FireRock, so named because of finding an old native fire rock on the site during the new golf course construction, Oxbow Glen Golf and Country Club and The Oaks golf courses. The village has a Middlesex County EMS satellite ambulance station. In partnership with Delaware and Mount Brydges , the three communities rotate responsibilities of hosting Canada Day celebrations. The partnership

810-542: Is experiencing a population growth due to several new subdivision developments. Consequently, the elementary school's enrolment has rapidly increased resulting in substantial renovations. In 1986 a 20 unit seniors apartment building was built and named the Malott Apartments, after the Late Arthur Malott who donated all the funds for its construction. In 2009 a second 20 unit seniors apartment building

864-535: Is halfway between two of the five Great Lakes . It is north of Lake Erie , and southeast of Lake Huron . Further to the east of Middlesex Centre is Lake Ontario , while to the west is the much smaller Lake St. Clair . That makes Middlesex Centre very desirable for farming for its frequent precipitation, and it also has higher than normal snowfall from lake-effect snow in the winter, causing desirable spring planting conditions (but also less desirable snow removal issues for its residents). The same benefits received by

918-470: Is located in southwestern Ontario , Canada . The Thames flows southwest for 273 kilometres (170 mi) through southwestern Ontario, from the Town of Tavistock through the cities of Woodstock , London and Chatham to Lighthouse Cove on Lake St. Clair . Its drainage basin is 5,825 square kilometres (2,249 sq mi). The river is also known as Deshkaan-ziibi / Eshkani-ziibi ("Antler River") in

972-526: Is nestled in the Thames River Valley, although it has now expanded over the top of the valley ridge. Most of the area surrounding Delaware is made up of forests and floodplain areas. Corn , soybeans and tobacco are farmed extensively in the area around Delaware, as well as inside the town limits in some areas. Delaware has undergone modest growth in housing over the last 30 years, with the developed area nearly doubling in that time. Many of

1026-521: Is the focus for local hockey through the fall to spring. Alongside the arena is the Ilderton Curling Club . It has a 4-sheet surface and a bar overlooking the ice. During the winter Ilderton becomes a hub for snow-mobilers as there are several trails which pass through or close by plus the availability of fuel for both machines and riders. Ilderton is the hometown of ice dancer Scott Moir , who captured Gold with partner Tessa Virtue at

1080-624: The 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. The pair also earned two silver medals at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia and two gold medals at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. They are the most decorated Figure Skaters in Olympic history. Ilderton is also the hometown of Toronto Marlies forward #10 Matt Read . Komoka village is

1134-657: The Ojibwe language , spoken by Anishnaabe peoples who, along with the Neutrals prior to their disappearance in the 17th century, have lived in the area since before Europeans arrived. This name was anglicized as "Escunnisepe" as the first English name of the river. In 1793, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe named the river after the River Thames in England . Early French Canadians referred to it as La Tranche, for

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1188-648: The Prairie Provinces and parts of British Columbia , a township is a division of the Dominion Land Survey . Townships are (mostly) 6-by-6-mile (9.7 by 9.7 km) squares, about 36 square miles (93 km ) in area. The townships are not political units (although political boundaries often follow township boundaries) but exist only to define parcels of land relatively simply. Townships are divided into 36 equal 1-by-1-mile (1.6 by 1.6 km) square parcels, known as "sections." In Saskatchewan ,

1242-708: The British Conquest, primarily as a surveying unit. They were designated and cover most of the unattributed territory in Eastern Quebec and what is now known as the Eastern Townships and later used in surveying the Outaouais and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean regions. Townships often served as the territorial basis for new municipalities, but township municipalities are no different from other types such as parish or village municipalities. In

1296-516: The Komoka Community Church, which lies halfway between Komoka and Kilworth Heights, was destroyed down to the foundation by an F2 tornado . In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Middlesex Centre had a population of 18,928 living in 6,695 of its 6,845 total private dwellings, a change of 9.7% from its 2016 population of 17,262 . With a land area of 588.16 km (227.09 sq mi), it had

1350-535: The Municipal Office for Middlesex Centre, as well as many volunteer organizations and events within the community. The Friend's Meeting House was established on Quaker Lane in 1850 and a library was organized in 1887. Much of the industry that Coldstream was founded upon has relocated to larger towns and cities such as Ilderton and London. Delaware straddles the Thames River , and is accessed by

1404-596: The Springbank Dam's gates failed in 2008, causing the dam to be locked in the open position, and rehabilitation was delayed pending litigation between an engineering firm and the City of London. On January 9, 2018, London's civic works committee voted to decommission the Springbank Dam permanently. Starting in the late 1800s, a railway embankment carried streetcars of the London Street Railway along

1458-484: The Thames River reached an all-time high of 21.5 feet (6.6 m) above normal flow resulting in 5 deaths and over 1000 homes being damaged. On August 13, 1950, a launch capsized and sank in London and killed four passengers. On August 14, 2000, the Thames River was designated a Canadian Heritage River . During the weekend of February 24–25, 2018, abnormally persistent rains caused significant flooding along

1512-432: The Thames River. It is separate from Kilworth, which lies along Glendon Rd on the east side of the Thames River and is part of London. Although Kilworth Heights is part of Middlesex Centre, demographically most of Kilworth Heights is a commuting exurb of Komoka. It has no independent industry, no schools, no major grocery store, no banks, and only two small commercial areas, including child care, veterinarian, restaurant, and

1566-626: The Thames in London , offering service between the city and Springbank Park in Byron . On May 25, 1881, the steamboat Victoria capsized and sank in the Thames near what is today Greenway Park in London, killing 182 passengers. After the disaster all ferries could only carry their maximum capacity, and the popularity of boating on the Thames dropped considerably. In the early morning hours of July 11, 1883, heavy rainfall caused considerable flooding on

1620-524: The Thames, especially in London . The vessel Princess Louise , which had been laid up, was forced over Waterworks Dam and capsized, killing 7, while the Forest City was cast out into the river and partially damaged. This flood would be the first of two significant floods to strike the city. On August 25, 1899, the Thames was set on fire and scuttled only feet from Waterworks Dam. On April 27, 1937,

1674-840: The Village "Ilderton" based on the village of Ilderton, Northhumberland, UK, where he emigrated from. Ilderton is home to a district fire station (As of March 31, 2014 - Emergency calls are answered by the Strathroy-Caradoc Police Service in nearby Strathroy, ending a decades long agreement with the nearby City of London.), Police Services are provided under contract with the OPP Middlesex County detachment. EMS/Ambulance Medical Services are provided by Station 14 in North West London, (approximately five minutes from Ilderton). The village houses

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1728-490: The area is mostly farming. The Ilderton Fair is one of the largest country fairs in Southern Ontario and brings huge crowds to the village every fall. The fall parade can take over an hour to go by and the events at the fairground and arena entertain young and old alike all weekend. At other times of the year the fairgrounds host many agricultural and equine events, the arena is home to sporting events year-round and

1782-929: The banks of the river. Extensive property damage was observed in Chatham and nearby Thamesville. The Thames River is home to about 90 species of fish and 30 species of freshwater mussel . As one of the southern-most rivers in Canada, many of the species found in its waters are found almost nowhere else in the country, and a number are legally protected as species at risk , including Blanding's turtle , northern map turtle , common snapping turtle , stinkpot turtle , spiny softshell turtle , spotted turtle , northern ribbon snake , queen snake , kidneyshell , rainbow mussel , round pigtoe , wavy-rayed lampmussel , gravel chub , northern madtom , black redhorse , eastern sand darter , northern brook lamprey , pugnose minnow , river redhorse , silver shiner , and spotted sucker . Three dams are used to control seasonal flooding in

1836-443: The buildings in the heart of Delaware are reputed to be over one hundred years old. These include the building that is now Delaware Variety as well as the antique shop across the street. Belvoir Manor is a private home that was at one point a seminary and a private school for boys, and at one point was destroyed by fire. The surrounding Belvoir Farms in which it is located is a prominent croquet venue for Croquet Canada. Delaware boasts

1890-492: The colony. In Prince Edward Island, the colonial survey of 1764 established 67 townships, known as lots, and 3 royalties, which were grouped into parishes and hence into counties; the townships were geographically and politically the same. In New Brunswick, parishes have taken over as the present-day subdivision of counties, and present-day Nova Scotia uses districts as appropriate. In Ontario , there are both geographic townships and township municipalities. Geographic townships are

1944-467: The community. Ilderton is along Middlesex County Road 16 (Ilderton Road) to the west of Highway 4 (Richmond Street), at the junction of Middlesex County Road 20 (Hyde Park Road). Prior to the late 1990s, the village was also accessible by railway. CN Rail had a rail line running north from Hyde Park to Clinton through the village. This rail line was abandoned from Ilderton north to Centralia in 1988, and south of Ilderton circa 1996. The portion of

1998-460: The former mayor of the City of London, Ontario and former Member of Parliament for London North Centre Joe Fontana , President of University of St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto David Sylvester (academic) , and Ben Dreyer, a famous area horseback rider, hunter, tanner, and first nation's skinner. Arva is on a pond (known as "the mill pond") on Medway Creek. There is also

2052-623: The former rail line south of County Road 16 has been converted to parkland. The Ilderton Independent Telephone Company served the Ilderton exchange until 1962 when the operations were acquired by The Bell Telephone Company of Canada. Ilderton is within boundary of three telephone area codes (NPA); 226, 519 and 548. Three telephone exchanges (NXX) are in operation for the Ilderton area, 519-666 (Bell) who provide traditional land-line services and DSL, 519-298 (Execulink Telecom) providers of Cable VOIP telephone services, and 226-308 (Quadro Communications -

2106-545: The lower part of the Thames flows through a shallow plain of sand and clay , with an average depth of 1.2 metres (4 ft). Urban areas the lower Thames flows through include Delaware , Chatham , Thamesville , as well as Chippewa and Oneida First Nations settlements. Tributaries of the three Thames Rivers include the Avon River , Dingman Creek, Jeanettes Creek, McGregor Creek, Medway Creek, Pottersburg Creek, Stoney Creek, Trout Creek and Waubuno Creek. The river

2160-534: The new Komoka Wellness Centre in the village. The village also supports a number of youth sports teams, including baseball and soccer. The Komoka Park has two baseball and two soccer fields, tennis courts, and a children's play area. There are two small business areas in the village: the downtown Komoka Foodtown and Post Office area, and the Glendon Drive / Komoka Road intersection with a bank, gas stations and variety stores, restaurants, and hair salon. Komoka

2214-709: The north, would stop overnight in Birr, in those days the approximate half-way point, and resume travel the next day. Coldstream is a hamlet in Middlesex Centre with a population of approximately 200. The municipal offices for Middlesex Centre are in Coldstream. Before it became Middlesex Centre by combining the Townships of Delaware, Lobo, and London in 1998, Coldstream was included in Lobo Township and

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2268-796: The old highway ( Highway 2 ) linking London and Chatham and the freeway ( Highway 402 ) linking Sarnia along with Port Huron and Toronto . The community of Delaware was first founded in 1796. Delaware was the objective of an American raid into Upper Canada in 1814 during the War of 1812 , which resulted in the Battle of Longwoods , on March 4, 1814, just about 24 km outside of Delaware. Delaware has two elementary schools , Delaware Central Public School (The Mustangs) ( Thames Valley District School Board ), and Our Lady of Lourdes (The Saints) ( London District Catholic School Board ). They are about one kilometre apart. Delaware Central has about 175 students, while Our Lady of Lourdes has around 400. Delaware

2322-432: The original historical administrative subdivisions surveyed and established primarily in the 1800s. They are used primarily for geographic purposes, such as land surveying, natural resource exploration and tracking of phenomena such as forest fires or tornados , but are not political entities. Township municipalities, also called "political townships", are areas that have been incorporated with municipal governments, and are

2376-901: The precipitation of the surrounding lakes also subjects the area to severe summer weather conditions because of the convection of any of the surrounding bodies of water in the summer heat. Middlesex Centre suffered a hit by an F3 tornado in 1990 at Komoka. Statistics Canada records the following places as being part of Middlesex Centre in 2011: Arva, Ballymote, Birr, Bowood, Bryanston, Coldstream, Delaware, Denfield, Devizes, Duncrief, Ettrick, Fernhill, Ilderton, Ivan, Kilworth Heights, Komoka, Komoka Station, Lansdowne Park, Littlewood, Lobo, Lobo Siding, Lockwood Park, London, Maple Grove, Melrose, Middlesex, Middlesex Centre, Oriole Park Resort, Poplar Hill, Sharon, Southgate, Telfer, Uplands Subdivision, Vanneck. A record snowfall ("Snow-maggedon") occurred between Dec. 4–8, 2010, affecting Huron and Middlesex Counties. A total of 177 centimetres (70 in) of snow fell during

2430-401: The township is in a county rather than in a regional municipality , the head of a political township may be called a " reeve ", not a mayor. However, the distinction is changing as many rural townships are replacing the title with "mayor" to reduce confusion. A few townships keep both titles and designate "mayor" as the head of the municipal council and use "reeve" to denote the representative to

2484-553: The upper part of the watershed flow through valleys created during the retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet during the last ice age . The Thames River and North Thames River meet in central London at the "Forks"; the University of Western Ontario is located north of the Forks at the north branch's confluence with Medway Creek . The Middle Thames River runs north of the Thames River joining it west of Ingersoll. Downriver from London,

2538-412: The upper tier (usually county) council. The term "geographic township" is also used in reference to former political townships that were abolished or superseded as part of municipal government restructuring. In Quebec , townships are called cantons in French and can also be political and geographic, similar to Ontario although the geographic use is not used much or at all. They were introduced after

2592-463: The watershed with Thames in the name—the Thames River itself, North Thames River, and Middle Thames River. These are also known locally as South Branch, North Branch, and Middle Branch. The South Branch, which begins as several field drains near Tavistock and initially flows southeasterly before turning southwesterly towards Woodstock, is the main stem Thames River and officially carries the Thames River name. The Thames River and North Thames River in

2646-488: The watershed: Wildwood Dam , located on Trout Creek which flows into the North Thames River; Pittock Dam , located on the Thames River near Woodstock; and Fanshawe Dam located on the North Thames River in the northeasterly area of London. A fourth dam at Springbank Park , downstream from the Forks, controlled water levels in central London from the 1870s until 2005 when it was closed for rehabilitation. One of

2700-632: The wide and muddy waters of its lower section. Much of the Thames was formerly surrounded by deciduous Carolinian forests, but much of this forest has been cleared to permit agriculture and other forms of development . Two conservation authorities together have jurisdiction over the Thames River watershed, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority and Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority, and work to prevent damaging floods and undertake other resource management activities. There are three rivers in

2754-472: The years. There are also three cemeteries, a gift shop called Legg's General Store, a furniture store and a second-hand book store. Until it was replaced by a modern low-rise concrete bridge in the mid-1970s, Birr had a one-lane iron bridge on the 13th Concession that crossed the Medway Creek. Birr had a hotel in the late 19th century; afternoon stagecoaches running between London and Lucan , 7 miles to

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2808-821: Was added to form the Komoka Seniors Apartments Complex. In 2011 the new Komoka Community Wellness Centre was opened and is home to the Elgin Middlesex Chiefs AAA Hockey teams, Komoka Kings Jr. B hockey team of the GOJHL, and was home to the Komoka Dragons Jr A hockey team of the GMHL. It also offers a YMCA fitness centre, walking track, two NHL size ice rinks, a library, meeting rooms, and an outside children's play area. Komoka Provincial Park with walking trails

2862-514: Was situated in the centre of Lobo. It is estimated that immigrants from Scotland obtained land grants and settled as early as 1820 in Lobo. Coldstream was previously known as Cutler, probably because the Cutler family operated and owned much of the town. Today Coldstream has an antique and quilt shop, elementary school (Valleyview Public School), fire hall, library, concrete business, conservation area and

2916-456: Was the location of an important battle of the War of 1812 . The Battle of the Thames (also known as the Battle of Moraviantown) fought on October 5, 1813, between American General William Henry Harrison and British General Henry Proctor , along with Proctor's ally Tecumseh . Chief Tecumseh was killed in the battle. In the final decades of the 19th century, pleasure boats began to operate on

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