Windsor NewsFor the people, For the city.

The Rose City rose. A nod to Windsor's City of Roses nickname. Original artwork by Windsor News.

Donate to Museum WindsorSupport Indigenous communitySupport Rose City Roots

Rose City Roots · Timeline · Chapter 11 of 11

City and Society

1890S TO TODAY

Parks, races, cycling clubs, roses and trails: how Windsor spent its time, and the places it lost.

Timeline

Windsor City Market, 1913
City Market, 1913. Gardner picture book. Public domain. Place context for City and Society.
  1. 1892 Windsor Wheelmen. The region's first cycling club rides in the 1890s bicycle craze, including cross-border rides to Detroit (Windsor Law cycling history report). Sources: Windsor Law cycling report · hdl.handle.net
  2. 1898 to 1993 Bob-Lo Island. The island amusement park reached by steamer. See our Lost Windsor story. One source so far. Sources: Windsor News
  3. 1916 to 1935 Kenilworth Park. The racetrack where Man o' War ran his last race, 12 October 1920. See our Lost Windsor story. Sources: Windsor News · SWODA, Leddy Library
  4. 1929 Jackson Park. Council names the former Windsor Jockey Club grounds for Mayor Cecil E. Jackson. Read the full story: Jackson Park. Sources: Windsor Public Library: Jackson Park · SWODA: Jackson Park postcard, c. 1963 (notes)
  5. Early 1960s The City of Roses. The Greater Windsor Foundation's rose campaign gives Windsor its nickname, and this section its name. Sources: University of Windsor · CBC News
  6. 1960s Annexations. Riverside, Ojibway and parts of the Sandwich townships join the city. Sources: City of Windsor · City of Windsor
  7. Late 1960s The riverfront trail. The trail now called the Roy A. Battagello River Walk begins, about 8 km from the Ambassador Bridge to the old distillery site. Sources: University of Windsor · Wikipedia
  8. 1971 to 1991 The Ganatchio Trail. Rotary-built and named for the Indigenous name of Lake St. Clair; phase one opened in 1983 and the Little River extension in 1991. Sources: Rotary Club · University of Windsor
  9. 2016 Herb Gray Parkway trails. About 17 km of walking and cycling paths open with the parkway. One source so far. Herb Gray was born in Windsor on 25 May 1931 and became Canada's first Jewish federal cabinet minister (see City Hall, Parliament from the Border). Sources: University of Windsor

More public life

New civic names from the second deep dive that passed a two-source check tonight. John Damien, Frank Chauvin and several broadcasters remain on hold for a second checked biography or an exact citation URL.

Walk of Fame star for Charles J. Clark at the Capitol Theatre, Windsor
Chris Woodrich. CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Charles J. Clark

Order of Canada; University of Windsor chancellor Civic and campus

An Order of Canada recipient and a University of Windsor chancellor. His name is on a star at the Capitol Theatre Walk of Fame in Windsor. The photograph is that star, not a portrait.

Sources: Order of Canada citation · Capitol Theatre Walk of Fame star (public monument, photographed 2026)

Names and nature

Bust of Herb Gray in Windsor, 2014
Crisco 1492. Bust of Herb Gray, Windsor, 7 December 2014. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Herb Gray (parkway name)

Parkway trails opened 2016; Gray born Windsor 1931 Deepen

City and Society already listed the Herb Gray Parkway trails. Herb Gray was born in Windsor and became Canada's first Jewish federal cabinet minister. See also the Parliament from the Border cards on City Hall. Tie: born Windsor; parkway namesake.

Sources: Canadian Encyclopedia · City Hall, Parliament from the Border
Ojibway Prairie, Windsor, Ontario
Mark Nenadov. Ojibway Prairie (Windsor, Ontario). Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0.

Ojibway Prairie

Tallgrass prairie remnant inside Windsor Natural Windsor

A rare tallgrass prairie and savanna remnant inside the city. Keep Nations of the Strait as the place for treaty and Nation politics; this card is about the ecology people can still walk. Tie: Windsor natural area.

Sources: City of Windsor / Ojibway Nature Centre materials · Commons photograph

Natural roots (cross-links)

These belong on the separate Natural Windsor preview. Short pointers only; do not duplicate the full natural chapter here.

Tip of Point Pelee National Park
Crisco 1492. Tip, Point Pelee National Park, 24 October 2026. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Point Pelee National Park

Created 29 May 1918 Cross-link Natural Windsor

Parks Canada marks Point Pelee as the first national park created for conservation. Middle Island, part of the park, is Canada's southernmost land. Full card lives on Natural Windsor.

Sources: Parks Canada 100th-anniversary release · Canadian Geographic Middle Island feature
Jack Miner portrait
Public domain portrait. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Jack Miner

Kingsville sanctuary from 1904; banding from 1909 Cross-link Natural Windsor

Early North American bird-banding program at Kingsville. National Wildlife Week Act ties the week of his birthday (10 April). Full science card can also sit on Windsor Minds; Natural Windsor owns the sanctuary story.

Sources: Canadian Encyclopedia · National Wildlife Week Act
Peche Island interior view
Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Peche Island

Hiram Walker estate from 1883; City park since 1999 Cross-link Natural Windsor

Walker bought the island in 1883 and built a summer house, canals and bridge; sold 1907; mansion burned 1929. City park since 1999. Alcohol history stays factual (estate of a distiller); no glamor. Full place card on Natural Windsor / Border Cities as needed.

Sources: City of Windsor park history · Walker estate secondary summaries

Schools and the university

Assumption College opened in 1857. That is the college date, not the founding year of the University of Windsor, which was incorporated on 19 December 1962 and became autonomous on 1 July 1963. St. Clair College was founded in 1966 and merged with the Western Ontario Institute of Technology in 1967; do not date St. Clair itself to 1958. Black schools of the Freedom Shore, including Mary Ann Shadd Cary's 1851 school, are on Freedom Shore, with Shadd's Windsor years deepened on Women of Windsor.

Assumption College campus in 1928
Assumption College campus, 1928. Assumption College. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 3.0.

Assumption College, 1857

College opened 1857 Schools and the university

First students arrived in 1857. Assumption University's account dates the doors opening to 10 February 1857, with 26 boarders and 60 day students under Rev. Pierre Point S.J. and M. Theodule Girardot as first instructor. The University of Windsor official history also records first students in September 1857. We use 1857 on a short card and note both months rather than pick a single opening day. The college later affiliated with Western.

Sources: University of Windsor, Our History · Assumption University history
Encounter, a sculpture by William McElcheran on the University of Windsor campus, 2025
Chris Woodrich. Encounter by William McElcheran, University of Windsor, 31 May 2025. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Campus context, not a founding photograph.

University of Windsor, 1962 and 1963

Incorporated 19 December 1962; autonomous 1 July 1963 Schools and the university

Do not say the university was founded in 1857. Assumption gained its own university powers on 1 July 1953, was renamed Assumption University in 1956, and federated when the University of Windsor was incorporated on 19 December 1962. The new university became an autonomous degree-granting institution on 1 July 1963, with Rev. Eugene C. LeBel as first president. The first women students had arrived in 1950, still in the college years.

Sources: University of Windsor, Our History
British troops on the Assumption College campus during the Fenian Raids, 1866
British troops on the Assumption College campus during the Fenian Raids, 1866. Photographer unknown. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The campus in 1866

Fenian Raids, 1866 Schools and the university

British troops were photographed on the Assumption College campus during the Fenian Raids. The picture shows how early the Sandwich campus already was a public place, not the later university corporation.

Sources: Commons File:British troops at Assumption College.jpg
West side of St. Clair College South Campus, 17 March 2006
Asteele. West side of St. Clair College South Campus, 17 March 2006. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. A small period photograph, used as a column view of the campus.

St. Clair College, 1966

WOIT 1958; St. Clair founded July 1966; merger September 1967 Schools and the university

The Western Ontario Institute of Technology was founded in 1958. St. Clair College was founded in July 1966, in Ontario's CAAT wave, and amalgamated with WOIT in September 1967. Do not say St. Clair itself was founded in 1958.

Sources: St. Clair College, WOIT alumni, 2024 · college history pages
Honourable W.C. Kennedy Collegiate Institute, Windsor
Kennedy Collegiate exterior. Flickr via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0. Small column photograph.

Kennedy Collegiate, 1929

Opened 3 September 1929 Schools and the university

The Honourable W.C. Kennedy Collegiate Institute opened on 3 September 1929 with 640 pupils and 20 teachers. Architects D. J. Cameron and W. Ralston signed the official opening program. It still stands at 245 Tecumseh Road East.

Sources: GECDSB, Kennedy about page (quoting the opening program)
Architectural detail of Walkerville Collegiate Institute, 2025
Chris Woodrich. Detail of Walkerville Collegiate Institute, 31 August 2025. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Walkerville Collegiate, 1922

Officially opened 1922; still operating Schools and the university

Walkerville Collegiate Institute opened in 1922, per local histories. The board's original opening program was not pulled this pass, so the year is stated from those write-ups. The school is still at work.

Sources: local school histories (board opening program not pulled this pass)
Windsor Collegiate Institute, 1913, later renamed J.C. Patterson Collegiate Institute
Windsor Collegiate Institute, 1913. The school was renamed J.C. Patterson Collegiate Institute in 1929; that was a renaming, not a founding. This is the 1913 building, not a later view of the closed campus. Souvenir view from Harry Wentworth Gardner, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

J.C. Patterson Collegiate

Grammar school 1854; renamed 1929; closed 1973 Schools and the university

This was not a school that "opened in 1929." It began as a grammar school in 1854, became a high school in 1871, and was known as Windsor Collegiate Institute until it was renamed in 1929 for lawyer and politician J.C. Patterson. Secondary sources give the closure as 1973; board minutes were not pulled this pass to confirm that date. The same J.C. Patterson appears in Black education history as a trustee who pleaded for improvements at St. George School. See Freedom Shore.

Sources: GECDSB naming appendix · UWindsor We Were Here · secondary closure date flagged

Pictures

Windsor waterfront, 1913
Windsor waterfront, 1913. Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913, compiled by Harry Wentworth Gardner (Windsor: Evening Record, 1913), p. 4. Photographer uncredited. Public domain. Via Canadiana.ca / Wikimedia Commons.
City Market, 1913
City Market, 1913. Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913, compiled by Harry Wentworth Gardner (Windsor: Evening Record, 1913), p. 9. Photographer uncredited. Public domain. Via Canadiana.ca / Wikimedia Commons.
City Hall (old), 1913
City Hall (old), 1913. Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913, compiled by Harry Wentworth Gardner (Windsor: Evening Record, 1913), p. 14. Photographer uncredited. Public domain. Via Canadiana.ca / Wikimedia Commons.
Public library (Carnegie), 1913
Public library (Carnegie), 1913. Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913, compiled by Harry Wentworth Gardner (Windsor: Evening Record, 1913), p. 5. Photographer uncredited. Public domain. Via Canadiana.ca / Wikimedia Commons.
Postcard of the Carnegie public library in Windsor, about 1910.
Public library, Windsor, about 1910. The printed title is "Public Library, Windsor, Canada." This is the Carnegie library. It is a different photograph from the 1913 library view already on this page. The Toronto Public Library dates this postcard to 1910 and marks it Public Domain. Courtesy of Toronto Public Library, PC-ON-2164, object 280242. Shown at the available size (about 650 pixels wide). Source record
Assorted scenes at Bob-Lo Island, 1913
Assorted scenes at Bob-Lo Island, 1913. Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913, compiled by Harry Wentworth Gardner (Windsor: Evening Record, 1913), p. 21. Photographer uncredited. Public domain. Via Canadiana.ca / Wikimedia Commons.
Kenilworth Park track and grandstand (postcard)
Kenilworth Park track and grandstand (postcard). Kenilworth Park, 1930 postcard. Post Card & Greeting Card Co. Ltd. University of Windsor Leddy Library (SWODA). Public domain.
Windsor Race Track summer meet, 1913
Windsor Race Track summer meet, 1913. Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913, compiled by Harry Wentworth Gardner (Windsor: Evening Record, 1913), p. 26. Photographer uncredited. Public domain. Via Canadiana.ca / Wikimedia Commons.
Riverfront sculpture walk and bike trail, Windsor
Riverfront sculpture walk and bike trail, Windsor. Riverfront walk and bike trail, Windsor. Photo: Mikerussell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A Windsor Police Department wanted notice dated 8 December 1915, issued by E. Wills, Chief of Police, with a portrait of the man named in the warrant.
Windsor Police wanted notice, 8 December 1915. A printed notice circulated by the Windsor Police Department and issued by E. Wills, Chief of Police. Sheets like this were how a police department spread a warrant and a reward beyond the city in 1915. The notice names Michael Stafford Keilty, then 22, as wanted on a charge of theft. It does not record the outcome of the case. Mike Skreptak Collection, University of Windsor, Leddy Library / Southwestern Ontario Digital Archive. Public domain. Source record
Postcard of the Technical School in Windsor, about 1910.
Technical School, Windsor, about 1910. The printed title is "Technical School, Windsor, Ont., Canada." The Toronto Public Library dates this postcard to 1910 and marks it Public Domain. Courtesy of Toronto Public Library, PC_ON_2162, object 293724. Shown at the available size (about 650 pixels wide). Source record
Postcard of Division Street in Kingsville, Ontario, about 1910, with a streetcar on a tree-lined street.
Division Street, Kingsville, about 1910. The printed title is "Division Street, Kingsville, Ont., Canada." The Toronto Public Library dates this postcard to 1910 and marks it Public Domain. Courtesy of Toronto Public Library, PC_ON_1016, object 335761. Shown at the available size (about 650 pixels wide). Source record

Amherstburg

Two public-domain photographs from the Alvin D. McCurdy fonds at the Archives of Ontario.

The Amherstburg band, led by Mayor William H. McEvoy, photographed in front of the town hall, about 1890.
Amherstburg band led by Mayor William H. McEvoy, about 1890. The file title is "Amherstburg band led by Mayor William H. McEvoy, taken in front of town hall." Archives of Ontario, Alvin D. McCurdy fonds, F 2076, I0056695. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Source record
The Amherstburg police force, including Chief Addison and Chief Detective Renaud, about 1912.
Amherstburg police force, about 1912. The file title names the Amherstburg police force, Chief Addison and Chief Detective Renaud. Archives of Ontario, Alvin D. McCurdy fonds, F 2076, I0056631. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Source record

All chapters

Share a family photo or story

Have a photograph, a letter or a short family account from Windsor-Essex? Email a copy. Names, dates and places help. Keep your originals. We only publish with your permission, and we credit the family. Please do not send social insurance numbers, medical files or other private records.

Open an email to windsornewsdesk@gmail.com

If the button does not open mail, write us at windsornewsdesk@gmail.com with the same details. Nothing you type here is stored on this site. The fields only help fill the email on your device.