Tilbury, Ontario

History

The nearby townships of Tilbury West in Essex County and Tilbury East in Kent County were named for the port of Tilbury in the English county of Essex. A settlement, called Henderson after the local postmaster, was established with the construction of the Canada Southern Railway in 1875. The name of the post office was changed to Tilbury Centre after the adjoining townships and the community was incorporated as a village in 1887. The name changed again to Tilbury a few years later and incorporation as a town followed in 1910. Tilbury is also home to the largest antique mall in Southern Ontario. Tilbury is also famous for its murals which depicts part of its history.

In 1998, the town was amalgamated with the City of Chatham and all municipalities of Kent County to form the municipality of Chatham-Kent. The former town hall at 17 Superior Street is now Tilbury Municipal Centre and Chatham-Kent Police station.

Notable businesses

Some notable stores in Tilbury include grocers Foodland, No Frills, retailers Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, Dollarama, Tilbury is also home to many locally owned restaurants and bars including most popular Roses Restaurant and the18 Wheeler Restaurant, Naples Pizza, The Dog House, and FlapJacks. Tilbury is also home to larger franchise restaurants such as Tim Hortons, Subway, KFC, and Little Caesars Pizza, as well as Burger King on the service centres on Highway 401. There are several gasoline stations in Tilbury that serve regular fuel and diesel, including flying j travel center, Mac's, Shell, UPI, and two Esso stations as well as two Canadian Tire gas stations on Highway 401. In 2011, Mac's moved their convenience store from Queen St. to Highway 2 and added a fuel station that serves gasoline and diesel. There are several car dealerships in Tilbury. The 4 main dealerships are Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram, and General Motors brands. All of which are part of a stretch of road called "The Tilbury Auto Mall".

Economy

Tilbury is home to a number of industries related mainly to the auto sector. Companies present in the community include Mahle, Autoliv, AP Plasman and others. A number of plants have closed in recent years, including Woodbridge Foam in 2012, Fleetwood Metal Industries in 2006 and KS Centoco in 2005 and recently ArvinMeritor (formerly Rockwell International), in June 2009. Tilbury is also home to many small businesses and also has an economic relationship to agriculture and renewable energy.

Healthcare

Tilbury has two clinics. One is the Tilbury District Family Health unit, next to Shoppers Drug Mart and another one is the walk-in clinic. There is also an eye care clinic and a dental clinic. There are no hospitals in Tilbury with servies either at Chatham Hospital or Leamington District Memorial Hospital.

Transportation

Tilbury is served by Highway 401 and Ontario Highway 2.

Public transit is provided by CK Transit's interurban Route D Chatham-Tilbury-Merlin.

Closest airports are Chatham-Kent Airport or Windsor International Airport.

There is no trains servicing Tilbury directly, the closest being VIA Rail's Chatham railway station (Ontario).

Community

Tilbury is also home of the Titans of Tilbury District High School, with an attendance of around 300 students. There is also a French elementary school (École élémentaire Saint-Francis), a public elementary school (Tilbury Area Public School) as well as a catholic elementary school (St. Joseph Catholic School).

Famous residents include actress Margaret Mather. Along with the former townships of Tilbury East and Dover, Tilbury is a designated French language service area under Ontario's French Language Services Act. Tilbury has an arena located next to the Knights of Columbus hall and provides free skating in the wintertime. Tilbury also has a splashpad near Tilbury Arena and Memorial Park has a skateboard park, a tennis court, an outdoor swimming pool, and a baseball field. Near the end of June, the organizers host a Canada Day fireworks event around dusk at the park. Organizers hosts the Tibury Santa Claus Parade in late November or early December and the Canada Day Parade in late June.

Media

Tilbury has a weekly newspaper named the Tilbury Times. It features local news, sports, and highlights. In some instances, news from Tilbury may be heard on CKSY FM 94.3, Country 92.9 FM/AM 630 CKCO and CKUE FM 95.1 Lite FM on radio, as well as television stations CBC News Windsor (CBET-DT) and CTV News Windsor (CHWI-DT).

Downtown Tilbury renovations

In 2014 sidewalks in Tilbury were replaced, and new streetlights installed.