By: Michael Bennett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Ridgetown Independent News
The gathering to unveil Ridgetown’s historical plaque from the Chatham-Kent Heritage Network series turned into a history lesson.
A nice crowd was on hand at Mickle Park on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 18, for the unveiling of Ridgetown’s ‘Let’s Build A Town’ plaque, the 20th in the series of colourful markers highlighting significant historical sites across Chatham-Kent.
Unlike the previous 19 ceremonies, however, there was no permanent plaque to unveil.
Lisa Gilbert, chair of the Chatham-Kent Heritage Network, told the audience that when Impact Signs arrived to install the plaque, they encountered a bit of trouble.
“There are bricks everywhere in this part of this property, just about six inches under the ground,” Gilbert said. “You have no idea when you’re looking at it because the grass is growing, but there is a whole pile of bricks everywhere.”
Gilbert said the bricks are from the former Mickle Mill, which stood on the site until the early 1960s.
She said Impact Signs had to start all over with the ‘call before you dig’ to find another location for the plaque, which requires a cement pad and supports that go into the ground.
Gilbert thanked Tom Button for creating a temporary sign for the Oct. 18 unveiling.
The ‘Let’s Build A Town’ plaque depicts the roots of Ridgetown, dating back to 1852 and the creation of Howard Township, under the new Canadian decree that allowed residents to elect their own councils.
At the time, Morpeth was Howard Twp.’s biggest community, but Ebeneezer Colby offered free land in Ridgeville, which at the time consisted of a schoolhouse, tavern and four farms.
Three years later, however, Ridgeville was chosen as the site for the Howard Twp. Community Hall, as it was renamed Ridgetown, had a population of 300 by 1858.
The plaque also depicts how the ‘ridge’ in the Ridgetown area was formed during the Ice Age, as well as how the town boomed when the Canadian Southern Railway built a train station in town in 1872.
Button, a respected local historian, provided a history lesson to the audience, telling them that Ridgetown was actually in the Bothwell riding in the 1860s, when the ‘oil town’ community had about 8,000 residents.
“There is so much history in the area about towns merging and then falling away, or towns that never did happen, even though people had plans for them,” Button told the audience.
“Colonel Talbot didn’t say, ‘okay, we’re gonna have a town here and here and here,’ he left it to the people to decide for themselves,” he said, referring to residents choosing Ridgeville over Morpeth for the Howard Twp. seat.
The earliest settlers on the current site of Ridgetown were William Marsh, James Watson, Edmund Mitton and Colby in 1826, as descendants of these families attended the plaque ceremony.
John Wright, Ward 3 Councillor, pointed out the Watson and Mitton families in his address.
“What a beautiful day, especially with two families that are here, the Watsons and the Mittons,” Wright said. “There were four families that started Ridgetown, and these are two of the family descendants way down the line, so it’s great to have them here today.”
Wright also showed his age when he said, “I do remember the Mickle building here as a child, it was a mill on the railroad track, it was a real, prosperous spot.”
Gilbert briefly discussed the importance of heritage and of celebrating the past of all communities in Chatham-Kent through the plaque series.
“The importance of knowing your heritage and your community and celebrating your heritage is so important,” she said.”Heritage is really who we are, and it takes many different forms.”
“You have the heritage buildings, but lots of times they’re gone or in ruins, and the only place you can see them is in photographs, like people at the (Ridgetown) library are showing us today.”
Gilbert said there is also valuable heritage within each person.
“Many of you here today are from this area, and you have roots that go way back,” she said. “It’s important here in Ridgetown, you’re celebrating your 150th anniversary.”
“The Ridgetown Senior Centre had a series of talks, culminating with Tom’s very entertaining talk,” she said of Button. “People walked away saying, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that?’”
“That’s kind of the idea of our plaques, too,” continued Gilbert. “We want people to walk away and say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that,’ and to realize that important things happen, right where they live.”
Gilbert’s husband Jim – another celebrated local historian, dressed as Col. Talbot for the plaque unveiling, as Craig Mitton and Rob Watson accompanied him.
The Chatham-Kent Heritage Network’s plaque series began in 2023 as a combined vision between the Kent Historical Society of Chatham-Kent and Mayor Darrin Canniff.
Funding comes from the Councillor Ward Funding Program, through Hydro One’s $10-million investment in art, culture and recreation in Chatham-Kent, as part of the 10-year Community Support Agreement that began in 2022.
Funds were also raised locally, including through the Ridgetown 150 Committee, the Ridgetown BIA, and Winmar Property Restorations Specialists in Chatham – operated by Ridgetown’s Dave Constancio – to contribute to the plaque.
Canniff thanked the Gilberts and the Heritage Network members for their dedication to the plaque program.
“This is all across Chatham-Kent and is helping to bring our community together,” Canniff said. “But the passion of your whole group, I absolutely love it.”
“I love being able to tap into passions within people in Chatham-Kent to make things happen, and without this group, we wouldn’t be here today, we wouldn’t have 20 plaques,” stated Canniff. “And it’s so important for us to have history on these plaques so when somebody walks through this park, they can look and say, ‘Oh, this is our heritage, this is our history.”