French History

The first French people in the Detroit River corridor came as explorers and fur traders. In 1701, the French explorer Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac established Fort Pontchartrain in Detroit as a strategic location to prevent British expansion into the Great Lakes. The French government encouraged families in the St. Lawrence Valley to move to this area, providing tools, land and animals to help them get started. In 1749, settlers established an agricultural community on the south shore of the Detroit River, known initially as La Petite Côte (Little Coast). These were the first European residents in the area, making it the first permanent European settlement in Ontario, and the oldest continuously inhabited French colony west of Montreal.

The French farms were long narrow stretches of land that lined the Detroit River. This gave everyone access to the river, providing vital means of transportation. The street systems of Windsor and LaSalle still show evidence of these ribbon farms. Many of the blocks are long and narrow, with streets following the boundaries of these farms, and even bearing the names of the families that owned them – Ouellette, Drouillard, Marentette, Goyeau, and Lauzon, to name only a few.

French missionaries relocated the Jesuit Mission to the Hurons to the south shore in 1742, which later became Assumption Parish. The Jesuit Pear Tree is a symbol of the Francophone community. Jesuits brought the seeds from France and planted them in groups of 12 to represent the 12 Apostles. Jesuit Pear Trees were one of the most striking features of the landscape in the 1700s as they could grow over 20 meters high and produce up to 60 bushels of fruit a year. Today, there are a few dozen that can be found in the area, some of which are hundreds of years old.

This area remained under French rule until the 1760s when France surrendered Canada to Britain. In the 1780s, after the American Revolution and the loss of Detroit to the U.S., a number of British Loyalists settled along the south shore introducing more English into the Windsor area. The border drawn between Canada and the United States in 1796 split the Francophone community; however, waves of immigration in the 1800s resulted in the development of many French speaking communities including Ryegate (now Tecumseh), Belle River, Pointe aux Roches and St. Joachim. Although the French character of the south shore changed, Francophones adapted, prospered and continued to influence the development of the city.

Want to learn more about French History? Francois Baby House features permanent galleries on Windsor’s French Roots!