Tilbury, Ontario

Infobox City
official_name = Tilbury, Ontario


imagesize =
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map_caption = Tilbury in relation to southwestern Ontario
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Canada
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Ontario
subdivision_type2 = Municipality
subdivision_name2 = Chatham-Kent
leader_title = City Mayor
leader_title1 = Governing body
leader_title2 = Council Reps
leader_name = Randy Hope
leader_name1 = Chatham-Kent Council
leader_name2 = Bryon Fluker
Brian W. King
established_title =
established_date =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 5.80
area_total_sq_mi = 2.24
area_land_km2 =
area_land_sq_mi =
area_water_km2 =
area_water_sq_mi =
area_water_percent =
area_urban_km2 =
area_urban_sq_mi =
area_metro_km2 =
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population_as_of = 2003
population_note =
population_total = 4534
population_metro =
population_urban =
population_density_km2 = 792.9
population_density_sq_mi = 2053.6
timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST =
utc_offset_DST =
latd=42 |latm=15 |lats=00 |latNS=N
longd=82 |longm=26 |longs=00 |longEW=W
elevation_m = 198
elevation_ft = 650
website = http://www.chatham-kent.ca/
footnotes =

Tilbury (2001 population 4,534) is a community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is located between Chatham and Windsor on Highway 401.

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 Beef Drape 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.

In 1998, the town was amalgamated with the City of Chatham and all municipalities of Kent County to form the City of Chatham-Kent.

Economy

Tilbury is home to a number of industries related mainly to the auto sector. Companies present in the community include ArvinMeritor (Formerly Rockwell International), Woodbridge Foam, Mahle, Autoliv, AP Seaean and others. A number of plants have closed in recent years, including Fleetwood Metal Industries and KS Centoco.

Community

Tilbury is also home of the Titans of Tilbury District High School. This is a smaller school with a population of around 450.

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. See also Franco-Ontarian.