It is located on the north shore of Lake Erie, approximately 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of the town of Harrow.

[6] A few of these loyalist families (Tofflemire, Kratz, Monger) were captured at Ruddell's Station[7][8] in Kentucky during the British/Indian raids under the command of Captain Henry Byrd in 1780 and taken by force north (~600mi) to Detroit.

After being freed when the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, most of the surviving families went to Grosse Ile and eventually to Essex County.

Colchester was also the birthplace and hometown of railroad engineer and inventor Elijah McCoy, whose work was granted 45 patents in the US.

Restaurants, a public beach, and a marina have been an important part of Colchester for some years now.