| Ridgetown | |
|---|---|
| — Unincorporated community — | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| Municipality | Chatham-Kent |
| Incorporated (village) | 1875 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Forward sortation area | N0P |
| Area code(s) | 519 and 226 |
| NTS Map | 040I05 |
| GNBC Code | FCLBC |
Ridgetown is a community located in south-east Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus. It has a population of roughly 3,500 and is one of many small farming communities in Chatham-Kent.
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Ridgetown was incorporated as a village in 1875 with just over 2,000 citizens. In 1975, Ridgetown celebrated its centennial. Residents celebrated by dressing in 1875 costumes, conducting beard-growing contests, barbecues, and other activities.
The Rotary Club of Ridgetown bought the Galbraith house and formed the Ridgetown Historical Society. The Ridge House Museum is now a living history museum that gets many visitors.
The name of Ridgetown came from it being situated on a gravel ridge, a remnant of the glacier age. The families Marsh, Mitton, Watson and Colby were the first settlers. William "Daddy" Marsh, who was known for making up far-fetched stories, once said that at York (now Toronto) where they were from, he climbed up a tall tree, saw the ridge and the plentiful land and said that was the place to be.
Major crops in the area are soybeans, corn, wheat, grains, apples and peaches. There is also a large percentage of dairy farms. The water supply is drawn from a number of deep wells around the town and is not connected to a piped system from a lake or river.
The railway tracks of the CNR and CPR railways used to run through Ridgetown, though these are both gone now – the last steam train through Ridgetown was in 2005. The railways form an important part of Ridgetown's heritage, because there had been competition between Ridgetown and Morpeth (now a small hamlet on Highway 3 - Talbot Trail) to get them. Ridgetown 'won' and expanded, to the everlasting cost of Morpeth which had to that point been advantageously situated on the major east-west highway in the area.
The climate is mild, being moderated by Lake Erie which is only seven kilometres to the south. Summer days can be hot and humid. In winter, Ridgetown is fortunate not to be in the snowbelt which begins near London, Ontario, hence snow accumulation is generally not a big problem.
In 2007, plans to install a line of electricity-generating wind turbines several kilometres to the south of town, along Highway 3 between Morpeth and Blenheim, were in development. This was one of four wind turbine projects approved for Chatham-Kent in 2007. [1]
Ridgetown is located in the middle of a low morainic ridge. Originally under water, in the melting of the last ice age, the 'Ridgetown island' appeared. The ridge is approximately 13,000 years old.[2]
Ridgetown has 3 schools. The high school in Ridgetown, Ridgetown District High School (RDHS), has just under 300 students in grades 7-12. In recent years, declining enrolment made it difficult for the Lambton Kent District School Board (LKDSB) to ensure a future for RDHS. As a result, vocal community groups have banded together to fight for and ensure the viability of the high school. If the high school were to close, students would have to be bussed to Chatham city schools. In 2006, RDHS became involved with a trial of video schooling - tying three area high schools together with one teacher.
RDHS made history in 2005 when the Drama Club entered the Sears Drama Festival with the play "The Empty Chair" written by Tim Kelly. The Drama Club worked from the summer of 2004 until performance night in February 2005 at the Chatham Cultural Centre. Out of 12 high schools from across the district, Ridgetown moved on to the Regional level for the first time in nearly 20 years.
The elementary schools (St. Michael Catholic School, Naahii Ridge Public School ) serve a wide area of eastern Chatham-Kent, with many students being bussed in from the countryside. Naahii Ridge Public School is also operated by the LKDSB. St. Michael is under the jurisdiction of the St. Clair Catholic District School Board.
The former Ridgetown College has been part of the University of Guelphsince 1997 and is now University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus. It is a venue for OAC- the Ontario Agricultural College. About 700 students presently attend 2 and 3-year courses on agriculture, veterinary technology, graphical information systems, horticulture and environmental management.
Ridgetown has a thriving manufacturing industry, mainly serving the automotive market, which employ many local and area people. Thyssen-Krupp, KSR International, Waltron Trailers, Trak Tool Machines, and Challenger Pallet are the larger plants.
Hundreds of smaller service businesses thrive in the area, including many long-established and unique stores in the downtown area.
The population is a mixture of farming, blue-collar, and white-collar workers and their families. Many people live in town and commute to jobs in Windsor, Chatham, London, Sarnia, or other larger cities nearby. In recent years, people from elsewhere in Canada have chosen to retire to Ridgetown. Due to the University Campus there are a number of highly-educated professors and researchers living in town.
The downtown area runs for about 3 blocks, with stores and businesses that serve the local and surrounding community and tourists. For a bit of colour, the streets are lined with planters courtesy of the local horticultural society and Ridgetown College horticulture departments. In October, just before Halloween, there are cornstalk and scarecrow decorations on the lampposts. There is a grocery store, drug stores, jewelery and gifts, cameras, a Sears outlet, post office, automotive supplies, dentist, doctors, optometrist, two gyms, real estate, financial and legal advice, and more. The many restaurants in town (including at the east and south entrances of town) that offer Chinese food, subs, pizza, burgers, ice cream, and nice sit-down meals in addition to very reasonable breakfast specials.
The Ridgetown Independent News is the weekly newspaper.
Ridgetown is home to many service clubs, including Rotary International, Kiwanis Club (also Key Club and Aktion Club), Optimists, IODE, the Ridgetown and Area Adult Activity Centre, Masonic Temple, Knights of Columbus, The Royal Canadian Legion and its Ladies' Auxiliary - and eight churches. Not to mention the arena, swimming pool, skateboard park, parks, public library, and the golf and curling club just outside of town. Many service clubs help the community by organizing community-wide events, such as the Santa Clause Parade, Festival of Porches and Verandas, and Victorian Christmas. The Ridge House Museum is the local museum, which holds many local artifacts. It is located in a century home that was built in 1875 by the George Mulhulland family, and was donated to the town by the Rotary club in 1975 to celebrate the town's Centennial.
Residents like to exercise by walking, cycling, skateboarding and rollerblading around the town. They also enjoy the nature trails linking the Memorial Forest to the Ducks Unlimited pond at the south west corner of town.
A visitor will also notice that people love to garden and participate in the Communities in Bloom competition. There's also a Community Garden for people to plant vegetables.
Ridgetown residents enjoy a little friendly rivalry with the somewhat larger community to the west - Blenheim.