Ad from the Border Cities Star – December 31, 1926.
This version of the Walker Farms were established around 1904, taking over from the earlier farm that was located at Walker & Tecumseh. As you may recall the manager’s house was demolished a few years back.
This farm was located around today’s EC Row and Central area. Part of the farm was severed in 1920 to create the Walker Airport (today’s underused Windsor Airport). The dairy farm closed in 1946.
There is a good history of the farm here at the Walkerville Times archives.
As pointed out in the Walkerville Times article, the only remain trace, can be found behind some industrial buildings on Deziel Drive.
A trace of the road that once connected some dairy buildings is still visible.
My first house was one of the townhouses in the twelve hundred block on Argyle Road. They were built for the employees of the Walker Dairy, a real “company town”.
I remember “Walker Farms” in its declining years. Most of the houses in the semi-circle street were in various states of disrepair and most of the barns were in disuse. At the time, I believe they still had some hog operations there but not accessible to the public due to sanitation requirements (in the 50s?). I believe “Walker Orchards” was still in operation in the 60s and it was run by a Remark fellow. Also as I recall that EC Row was a pretty good road in this area compared to sections east of Pillette Road. Does anyone recall when a section of Pillette Road was closed for airport expansion? I remember going to the southern edge of the then closed Pillette Road to watch the Golden Hawks perform in an air show. This was probably in the late 50s or so.
Although Hiram Walker never became a Canadian citizen, he did made considerable contributions to this area.
I think Pilette was closed sometime in the early to mid 80’s because I remember going down Pilette to get to county rd. 42 as a kid.
Pilette didn’t make it all the way to 42 I believe (at least “in my time”) but Jefferson used to connect to it and in the early 80s was cut for airport land expansion.
Yes, it wasn’t that long ago that Jefferson was closed across the airport property. At that time the airport property was increased for a planned runway extension. Prior to that however, Pillette did cross the airport property to Highway 2 (now County Road 42) and connected with Concession 8 of Sandwich South. Jefferson connected to County Road 42 near the Concession 9 intersection with 42; one could travel down Jefferson to County Road 42, make a slight jog and continue down Concession 9.
If you look closely as you pass the airport on County Road 20 you can still see remnants of these roads on airport property.
It appears to have made it to 42 before our time though, Shawn. I believe the airport was the same reason Pilette’s path to 42 was interrupted?
Interesting map resource here from 1880:
http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/CountyAtlas/images/maps/townshipmaps/ess-m-Sandwich-E&W.jpg (takes a while to load – 4158px × 3210 image)
very cool! i love seeing stuff like that.
it’s interesting to me that on Google maps, if you don’t go into the satallite veiw, this area is still labled as walker farms! i never noticed it before and then all of a sudden it was there. maybe i just wasn’t paying attention lol
pillette and jefferson are also both clearly visible on google maps.
JOHN! i have been looking for ever to find a map like this! thank you so much 🙂
fisrt of all, it’s super cool to see the names of the people for which our streets are named!
second – this amp is telling me the corner of pillette and techumseh was it’s own damn town!?!?! how cool is that?! i wonder if Charlies was around back then lol. just south of that bar are a couple of old, standard looking homes, i wonder if they were build during a time when this area was still it’s own town?
Aaron – That Mero’s Corners has always stood out to me too… Also note the Toll Gates on the county roads 🙂
Not only that, this map indicates that the town hall was situated at Mero’s Corners. I wonder when it was moved to near Lauzon (on tecumseh near where McDonalds now stands)? From what I remember of the construction style of the near Lauzon location, I would think it was built around 1920.
Excellent — thanks. I always notice the ghost of Jefferson — now will look for the ghost of Pilette.
I keeping looking at John’s 1880s map. Amazing to see where the French landuse system collides with the British concession one. Am I correct in reading it like this?
i’m pretty sure you’re reading that right Shawn.
so Andrew, according to this….we would have had to pay a toll at Howard and Grand Maris? LOL!
this is so interesting! if you look to where there what looks like a burn mark, there’s what i’m assuming is windsor grove cemetary, then the little section of st. alphonses cem. Ellis street is rediculously older then i thought, the whole city ends at Giles!
also, do you see near walker and techumseh the name C. Swan next to a black square? i wonder if that was the walker farms managers home that was recently taken down?
there’s also a home labled with L. Maillioux. I wonder if this is that big green home at i think Curry and Techumseh. but that looks a little newer. it could be where the chinese buffet is alittle further west on Techumseh. if you look at the roof of the chinese buffet you’ll see there’s a house in the middle of it with (now, i don’t know the term) the style of roof common to 19th c , victorian homes (i think)where it would come to a really steep point in the front or sides of the home. it looks ancient anyways.
ok that’s enough…..i could go on forever with this thing lol
so nice to see something left of Walker Farms, a great landmark in its day
They should preserve that but, like everything else, it will be gone and forgotten
Oh yeah, oops I was thinking of Jefferson.
Does anyone remember the colours of the Walkerside Dairy?Also what were their dates and when would they have had an ice cream division?I have an old milk can that is from that section.
Also does anyone have pictures of any of the milk wagons?
I don’t have a milk can, but I do have a 1 gallon Walker Orchards Sweet Apple Cider bottle. The colours on the label are mostly red. I suspect to go with the red apples. Even has a WALKERS label that is in red font
Would the cider bottle be from the barn fruit market operatrd by Frank Remark, he had a buisnes next to the Shrine Club before the expressway cosled E C Row. In 1978 or 79 he had a fire,but reopend after.
Remark store on Howard Av. is operated by his nephews.
The Remark brother had apple orchards in Kingsvile.
My parents leased what was left of some of the barns in the early 70’s (72-75) and we kept, trained and boarded Standardbred race horses there. We lived in a mobile home back in this area but many of the homes around the circle were still being used. I have so many good memories of living at Walker Farms even though it’s hayday had long since past. I remember coming across a library book one time that showed good pictures and layouts of what the farm used to be like but that was many years ago and I have never been able to come across anything like it since. The quality of what the farm once was, was stil very evident even then. Floors in the barns were wooden bricks, the lofts in some of the barns were floored with lapboard and still other were done in nice tongue-n-grooved wood fit for any quality home. There used to be the remnants of an old fire ladder truck at the back of one of the barns we would play on, and we would climb up to the top of the mill that was there playing hide and seek, not really worrying about falling through something or breaking something. I could go on and on about Walker Farms, it was a great place when your a 12 year old boy!
On November 17 2012 there was a reunion of the families that grew up on Walker Circle in the 60’s / 70’s till it was acquired for the supposed expressway.
Here is a Facebook link to the event. https://www.facebook.com/events/266471700135741/304048739711370/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity
That stretch of Jefferson is still there. In 2003 GM was storing cars on the grass along the road, and as a security guard, I had to drive from Rhodes to Country Rd 42 one time. It was kind of neat driving down that old, closed stretch of road.
I lived on the farms for about 10 years and I loved living there I made long lasting friendships there because all the families were very close.. We had a reunion for walker farms families in 2012 it was so wonderful to see every one again, old friends that we hadn’t seen forever, Walker Farms was a small little community all in its self and no we did not sell apples or apple cider that was further done E.C. Row that was called Walker Orchard