Old Sandwich Town

This area south of what was named the Detroit River was initially inhabited by various First Nations, including the Ojibwa, Ottawa (known as Odawa), Potawatomi, all of which were Algonquin-speaking, and Wyandot peoples, also known as the Huron to the French.

[3] After Detroit became independent from Great Britain in 1796, resulting from the United States success in the western theatre of the American Revolutionary War, the Crown encouraged development at Sandwich on the opposite side of the river.

[4] Sandwich has been the site of significant historic events, such as the beginning of the War of 1812 between Britain and the US, in part fought over the northern border with Canada.

[1] Some important Canadian figures have lived here, including Mackenzie and Henry Bibb, a fugitive slave who founded the first Afro-Canadian newspaper.

[1] A life-size bronze statue of a dismounted Brock alongside a mounted Tecumseh, created by Canadian sculptor Mark Williams, was unveiled in Sandwich Towne, on September 7, 2018.

Brock is shown examining Detroit through his telescope while Tecumseh watches a British artillery battery on the Canadian shore bombard the fort.