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268 Main St. N., |
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Ontario Tourism Region : Southwestern
Description From Owner:
- Pop. 912. In Zone T., Kent C., near the Thames R. on the CNR, between C. Rds. 2, 14 & 16, just N of Hwy 2, 40 km. NE of Chatham.
- Settlement started in 1852, when the Great Western Railway built a line through the township.
- In 1854 the Hon. George Brown purchased 4,000 acres (1,620 ha) in the area and laid out a townsite which he called Bothwell after the Town of Bothwell in Lanarkshire, Scotland.
- Brown owned the Toronto Globe, in which he advertised the lots for sale. Speculators bought up the lots but the 'metropolis' advertised by Brown did not materialize.
- When John Lick discovered oil in 1863, the community became a boom town, its population rapidly growing to 7,000.
- The first well produced 30,000 barrels of oil before it was accidentally blown up. Many of those drawn by the oil boom were Americans, and as the Fenian Raids accelerated in 1866, they returned to the U.S.
- In the same year the price of crude oil dropped, and in 1867 a major fIre destroyed most of the community's business district. Today Bothwell has some small industries and is the centre for a region of mixed fanning.
Address of this page: http://www.ruralroutes.com/bothwell