History
The Fort Erie area contains deposits of flint, and became important in the production of spearheads, arrowheads, and other tools. In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the Niagara Peninsula was inhabited by the Neutral Nation, so named by the French because they tried to remain neutral between the warring Huron and Iroquois peoples. In 1650, during the Beaver Wars, the Iroquois Confederacy declared war on the Neutral Nation, driving them from their traditional territory by 1651, and practically annihilating them by 1653. The Battle of Ridgeway (1866) was fought near here, as part of a Fenian invasion of Canada from the United States.
The Grand Trunk Railway built the International Railway Bridge in 1873, bringing about a new town, originally named Victoria and subsequently renamed to Bridgeburg, north of the original settlement of Fort Erie. By 1876, Ridgeway had an estimated population of 800, the village of Fort Erie has an estimated population of 1,200, and Victoria boasted three railway stations. By 1887, Stevensville had an estimated population of "nearly 600", Victoria of "nearly 700", Ridgeway of "about 600", and Fort Erie of "about 4,000".
In 1970, the provincial government consolidated the various villages in what had been Bertie Township, including the then town of Fort Erie, into the present Town of Fort Erie.
Demographics
The 2011 Census of Canada indicated a population of 29,960 for Fort Erie. This was a 0.1% increase over the 2006 Census.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="2" | Canada 2006 Census!! Population !! % of Total Population
|-
| rowspan="12" | Visible minority group<BR><small>Source:</small> || South Asian || 225 ||
|-
| Chinese || 365 ||
|-
| Black || 300 ||
|-
| Filipino || 50 ||
|-
| Latin American || 410 ||
|-
| Arab || 40 ||
|-
| Southeast Asian || 45 ||
|-
| West Asian || 30 ||
|-
| Korean || 85 ||
|-
| Japanese || 20 ||
|-
| Other visible minority || 35 ||
|-
| Mixed visible minority || 20 ||
|-
| colspan="2" | Total visible minority population|| 1,620 ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | Aboriginal group<BR><small>Source:</small> || First Nations || 750 ||
|-
| Métis || 150 ||
|-
| Inuit || 0 ||
|-
| colspan="2" | Total Aboriginal population || 940 ||
|-
| colspan="2" | White || 26,985 ||
|-
| colspan="2" | Total population || 29,545 || 100%
|}
{| cellpadding="1" style="float:right; margin:0 1em 1em 0; border:1px #bbb solid; border-collapse:collapse; font-size:90%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" style="text-align:center;"
!Census
!Population
|- style="text-align:right;"
|1871
|835
|- style="text-align:right;"
|1901
|890
|- style="text-align:right;"
|1911
|1,146
|- style="text-align:right;"
|1921
|1,546
|- style="text-align:right;"
|1931
|2,383
|- style="text-align:right;"
|1941
|6,566
|- style="text-align:right;"
|1951
|7,572
|- style="text-align:right;"
|1961
|9,027
|- style="text-align:right;"
|1971
|23,113
|- style="text-align:right;"
|1981
|24,096
|- style="text-align:right;"
|1991
|26,006
|- style="text-align:right;"
|2001
|28,143
|- style="text-align:right;"
|2006
|29,925
|- style="text-align:right;"
|2011
|29,960
|- style="text-align:right;"
|}
According to the 2001 census, the population was 28,143, broken down as follows: 92.8% White, 3.2% Aboriginal, 1.4% Chinese, 0.9% Black, and a very small percentage of Asian, Arab, and Hispanic populations.
Transportation
Ontario Highway 3 runs through Ridgeway and was named King's Highway 3A from 1927 to 1929, Within Ridgeway, Highway 3 is named Garrison Road, and is the major East-West connection through the town. Dominion Road was designated as King's Highway 3C from 1934 until 1970, when it was downloaded to the newly formed Regional Municipality of Niagara and redesignated as Niagara Regional Road 1.
Trails
Fort Erie is the eastern terminus of the Friendship Trail, and the southern terminus of the Niagara River Recreation Pathway. Both trails are part of the Trans-Canada Trail system.
See also
- List of townships in Ontario