In the days before E.C. Row ran though the middle of the city, the Third Concession was the east-west road located along the present route. Parts of the old Third Concession still survive today as the North Service Road.
I have always wondered what the story was with the dead end section near Howard Ave. As you can see in the map above this part of the Third ended at Howard Ave.
When the Expressway was put in, the street was closed off and relegated to service road duty.
In the days prior to Union Gas, the Windsor Gas Co. occupied a huge chunk of the land north of the Third Concession. To this day Union Gas still has some pipelines on the property.
The map above makes reference to a “Concrete Bridge”. There is still a bridge over the creek, although I’m not sure if it is the same one or not. Although the bridge on the map is shown as being smaller, than the road is wide, the maps weren’t always 100% accurate. It also shows an electric rail siding going into the Gas Company. Any rail fans know anything about an electric railroad servicing the Gas Co. in the 1930s?
The main building of the Windsor Gas Co. is still standing, and is today used by Woodall Construction.
Apparently spelling mistakes aren’t a modern innovation — “Grand Marias Road”? Or was that the original name?
🙂 Malcolm I didn’t even see that, otherwise I would have made fun of it!
Good catch. I just checked some other period maps, and the road is correct on those maps.
Nice story. I like the old gas building, looks straight out of a model train set (except for the blocked-off windows on the ground floor).
I saw an article in the Star about widening EC Row to 3 lanes each way, an interchange at Manning, and above-grade crossing at Lesperance with no exit there (the cemetery probably being one reason). That would reduce traffic on Lesperance to mostly local which would be nice I think.
Actually, it looks pretty accurate except for the siding. Your July 24 post on Devonshire Racetrack has a 1967 overhead photo showing most everything in the upper left. The siding is gone, but the bridge looks a bit narrow – it’s kind of fuzzy to say for sure.
does anyone have pics of when ec row was first built?
If these pics do exist, and I’m sure they do, I doubt they’d be interesting. After all, it’s just ten miles of cement, presuming you are talking about the “finished product” which didn’t come along until the mid ’80s and not the beginning of construction which started when the Beatles were still together.
How far east did the Third Concession go? To Jefferson? I know there are some old houses on North Service Road between Transit Windsor and Pillette.
Also, did it exist at any point west of Howard?
Wikipedia has a pretty interesting entry about Grand Marais Road. It makes me wonder if anyone has any pre-E.C. Row pictures of the area between Dougall and Howard.
In the late 70s/early 80s we would drive along E.C Row (the road, some of it dirt) from Banwell all the way to the back of Devonshire (Bay/Simpsons side). Like the 3rd Concession, chunks of it still exist.
Hi Andrew,
Just a bit of trivia about road construction. Most roads when designed have a 60 ft. allowance. Most road lanes are about 9 or 10′. which leaves about 20 on either side for shoulder and ditches. So that said, I see from the picture that the concrete bridge is about 25′ wide, so that works. And Happy New year from Kingston. Love your site.
I clearly remember going to a variety store at the corner of 3rd Concession and Dominion in the mid-70s, before EC Row. Also recall when the fence that surrounds EC Row was first put up at the end of our street. And finally, in the bush that used to exist behind Bellewood school, there was the remains of a house that stood along 3rd Concession…..
Andrew – first of all…congratulations on the award! I never knew this blog existed until I read about you and this site on DYes. So I’ve been lurking around a bit and learning my way through the site.
I have a question for you. Do you happen to know why certain roads are called Concession? I live out in the county and there are tons of concession roads. They all go by the same numbers no matter what area you’re in. There’s a 3rd Concession just outside of Kingsville and a 3rd Concession outside of LaSalle. Same with all the other numbers.
Anyway, I’ve always wondered about that. Why are those roads not given “real” names? Where did “Concession” come from?
Just wondering in Colchester!
Thats a god question!
I can take a guess at what it means. The root word concede was perhaps what the farmers in the olden days did when access roads were needed by the towns and a series of roads were gridded across the county over the private farmland. Am I close?
Rae – Welcome over here! I’m glad you’ve found the site, be sure to check in often.
That is a great question and Fausto’s answer really seems to make a lot of sense. However, according to the “experts” at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concession_road
This is what is says:
In Upper and Lower Canada, concession roads were laid out by the colonial government through undeveloped land to define lots to be developed; the name comes from a Lower Canadian French term for a row of lots. Concession roads are straight, and follow an approximately square grid, usually oriented to a local lakeshore. They are 100 chains or 1.25 miles (2.0 km) apart, so that two consecutive north-south concession roads and two consecutive east-west roads enclose 1,000 acres (4 km²). These 1,000 acres (4 km²) were then divided into lots according to various plans. …
Roads which led away from a lake or river (i.e.: perpendicular to the concessions) were called sidelines or side roads and Line frequently appears in Ontario road names as the equivalent of Road, although confusingly, in some townships “line” has the same meaning as “concession”. For example, Guelph Line, 12th Line, and Brown’s Line are important thoroughfares in and west of Toronto. The sideroad name survives in Clarke Side Road (also known as Clarke Road) in London. The first concession was often known as the baseline, and roads with that name survive in many municipalities, including Ottawa and Clarington. The first concession was also frequently known as the front, or broken front (B.F.) when it was on a lakeshore. …
Since in most of Upper Canada this surveying preceded urban development, most Ontario municipalities have grid patterns of streets. In cities, the concession roads tended to evolve into the major streets.
*BUMP*
Andrew…….did this streetcar line handle freight like the Amherstburg line? (are they the same?)if so i’m willing to bet that’s where the electric siding comes to play. Afterall, the turnaround loop was at G.M and Howard. It seems a bit too far from the old CASO electric yard which was more in the Tecumseh/crawford area.
Aaron – It did handle freight as well.
The map must be pre-1935 because the electric rail line likely would be the Windsor Essex and Lake Shore Railway. Also, it would be before Zalev Bros located the salvage yard in 1946 just west of this location off of Howard. The site was mostly a swamp draining into the Grand Marais.
Also, E.C Row (pre expressway) ran from Banwell to Howard but I believe after a break at Howard resumed at Dougall and ended at Huron Line.
JBM – at least 1/3, maybe even 1/2 of Zalev Bros sits on the former CASO/MCRR Eastbound receiving yard, and the Westbound classification yard. was the swamp roughly located closer to howard where Zalev started behind the motels and stuff? i don’t know when Zalev started to expand, but as of 1967 (according to an areial photo) the railyard…at least it roadbeds anyways, were all still intact.
i’m not trying to say you’re wrong, i’m just trying to figure out where the swamp was!
Aaron, I’m sure Zalev expanded over the years and possibly took up some of the vacated CASO properties. I googledand found this on Zalev. http://wikimapia.org/7612753/Zalev-Brothers-Scrap-Yard
nah, it took it all. remember, there used to be three bridges crossing Dougal. the one that remains serves(served) the mainline, the second right next to it to the north served the Eastbound yard, and the last one to the north just before the bend in the road, served the Westbound rec’v yard and roundhouse before they came together at howard. That northern railbed cuts right thru the heart of Zalev. On a 1956 map from the NYCRR, there is a 120′ track that’s labeled “Zalev lead”.
that’s interesting about what wikimapia says about the site. i don’t see why it’s not possible. this is gonna drive me nuts. i don’t even know why i’m rambling on about railways!!!!
you know what, now i really don’t know what i’m going on about. zalev didn’t START on RR property, and it probly was a swamp.
sorry, this was all pointless 🙂
3rd Consession of Sandwich East Township met with Howard Avenue and Marais Road at a Toll Gate. The Marais Road was an earlier French settlement road that ran roughly from Petite Cote near the Chapell house to Mero Corners at Pilette and Tecumseh (2nd Consession) via what I expect was initially a Wyandotte or Chippewa (Ojibwa) native trail following the Turkey Creek (Riviere aux dindons) bed and the large wetland area (Grand marais) that drained into the creek which is now generally filled in as they did with the old creek bed and low lands that is now Giles Blvd.
From Frederick Neal’s book:
The Township of Sandwich.
Originally the limits of the municipality of the Township of Sandwich
formed a quarter circle running north and west from a given point for
a distance of twelve miles to Lake St. Clair on the one hand and the
Detroit River on the other. These two bodies of water forming the
north, northwest and western boundries the eastern being formed by
the Township of Maidstone, and the southern by the Townships of Col-
chester and Anderdon. The whole comprises a most fertile region of
over one hundred square miles in extent and advantageously situated
as regards commercial facilities and every adjunct of civilization. Thi<*
section formed the old French Parish of L'Assomption. It was con-
stituted the Township of Sandwich in carrying out the details of Lord
Dorchester's proclamation dated July 24, 1788, dividing the Province
of Quebec into districts this being a part of the district of Hesse. The
surveys, however, had been made under the old French system when
the settlement was first effected at any rate, along the water front, and
running back three or four miles towards the interior; the balance of
the township, constituting the southeast quarter, being laid out under
General Simcoe's administration, 1791.
From the original formation of a township, it remained as the Town-
ship of Sandwich until the year 1854 when Windsor was set off as an
independent municipality under a village charter. Four years later it
was incorporated as a town, and at the same time (1858) Sandwich
Town was also incorporated by special act of Parliament. Municipal
divisions continued thus till 1861 when the township was again sub-
divided ; and from a single municipality in 1854 it now comprises the
Town of Sandwich, City of Windsor, Town of Walkerville, and the
Townships of Sandwich West, Sandwich East and Sandwich South.
The Town Hall of the late Township of Sandwich was a frame house
one and a half stories high of about 40×30 feet and was situated at the
corner of Dougall Avenue and Tecumseh Road (2nd Consession) on Mr. James Dougall's
farm. This historical building was sold by auction by D. Moynahan,
the Township Clerk of Sandwich West on March 11, 1861.
A "Sedentary" Militia was established throughout the western penin-
sula, and four companies had their headquarters in Sandwich and vicin-
ity. The companies were composed of veterans who had served in 1837
and in 1812, but for nearly twenty-five years no call to arms diverted the
energies of the Essex settlers from the task of converting their fair heri-
tage into the "Garden of Canada."
The last inspection of the companies was held at Sandwich on the
twenty-fourth of May, 1856, when they paraded, with many of their num-
ber, togged out in blanket or buckskin coats, scarfs tied tightly around
the waists, and feet encased in shoepacks or moccasins. They were
reviewed by Col. Askin (the grandfather of the present County Regis-
trar) who appeared mounted, wearing the regulation blue frock coat,
sash, sword and belt and a silk hat !
The company from Sandwich was commanded by Constant Gauthier,
one of the oldest pioneers, that from Petite Cote by Maj. Semandre, who
had spiked the outlying guns before the surrender of Detroit to Brock,
and had taken a daring part in the defeat of the Americans at Turkey
Creek, in the war of 1812; the company from "The Marais" was com-
manded by Jerome Dumouchelle, but the writer is unable to ascertain
who commanded the fourth company, which came from the vicinity of
Sandwich East.
JN the original E C Row was a two lane asphalt road that ran all the way to Banwell rd in the east mostly farm land
Yes, It was called 3rd Concession.
Third concession on the west side ran east from Huron Line to Dougall, it ended at Dougall, The old road shown in pics is actually the abandoned section of Cameron between Dougall and Grand Marais Road. From Howard Ave to Walker Road was actually the old E.C. Row, which I think was renamed as a continuation of Grand Marais Rd.
What was the other road that seems to be gone now? It connects to Grand “Marias” right about where the Ivy Rose is now. It just says “HON” on what we can see of it. What is the “Steel Gasmeter” listed? It’s a large circle. It looks like it still exists today and the construction company parks equipment on it.
I would also love to see pictures and more information on E.C. Row Expressway. Like when they were knocking down structures in the way, and that sort of thing. Is there any old concept drawings? Things they conceived, but didn’t do? I read that it was originally intended to go from Amherstburg to Belle River.
The “gasometer” was a large cylindrical structure used for storing variable quantities of natural gas. The lower part was fixed to the base. The upper part could move inside the lower part, in effect floating on the contained gas. The upper, moveable part was guided and held in place by a set of vertical structures. The circular feature on the map is the base of the whole structure. See “gasometer” on Google for pictures.
That’s pretty cool. Thanks, Stephen. I’ve never heard of those before.
Tony Beresford, that was one of the most interesting things I’ve ever read.
I often wondered along Grand Marais why there were such old farm houses (far from the town of Windsor when they were built) and still standing.
It totally makes sense, and I would have guessed the same if I did not read that info.
The further detail was also extremely interesting. The defeat at Turkey Creek is often forgotten in our County’s history. And cannot be found in any footnote I’ve ever read, other than one (in which I forget where I read it). After the skirmish at River Canard, the Americans retreated back to Sandwich, but were pursued by Natives. They ended up catching up to them at Turkey Creek and killed 6 of them. From what I know, the bodies were hacked up and scattered everywhere with no trace remaining. This was in retaliation of the first Native killed (and ironically being scalped by the Americans).