Kingsville, Ontario

The geography of Kingsville is typical of most of Essex County. The terrain is generally flat, and consists of glacial drift which is a mixture of various rocks, sand and clay. The town itself is some 570 feet above sea level.

[edit] Famous facts

Kingsville was the preferred vacation spot of the distiller Hiram Walker. He built the Mettawas Hotel in 1889 to attract others to the area, such as Ty Cobb and Teddy Roosevelt and Henry Ford.

Kingsville is home to the Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary. Jack Miner was awarded The Order of the British Empire (OBE) for the greatest achievement in conservation in the British Empire. It was awarded June 23, 1943, by King George VI, as King of Canada. Jack Miner is considered "the father of the conservation movement on the continent".

Kingsville is home to the well known Colasanti's Tropical Gardens which attracts many people from all over the world. The gardens have many varieties of tropical plants and animals.

Brian's was established in Kingsville, and their goalie pads are utilized by many professional players.

Florida Marlins pitcher, Paul Quantrill, although born in London Ontario, grew up in Kingsville.

The famous Team Canada Women's Ice Hockey player Meghan Agosta is from the Ruthven community in Kingsville. Agosta, who scored a hat trick on her birthday during the 2004 Winter Olympic games in Turin Italy, was widely regarded as prominent figure in the area before her frequently displayed medal began to annoy many of the local townsfolk. Currently, Agosta lives at home and has no future plans.

Kingsville is the home town of the Great Lakes Jr. C team Kingsville Comets.

[edit] Schools

Kingsville has three elementary schools, St. John de Brebeuf Catholic Elementary School, Kingsville Public School and Jack Miner Public School.

Kingsville District High School (KDHS) has a student population of roughly 650.

Former KDHS art teacher Steven Gombai (retired in 1999, at 65) was known throughout the greater school district for inspiring highly representative, classically inspired art from his students, leading many to win several regional and provincial awards.

Several long standing rivalries between KDHS and the Leamington District High School exist. The Lighthouse Society (LS), a secret organization founded by student H. Horace Wigle in 1936 was established to oppose infringement on Kingsville from Leamington students. The Society was uncovered and publicly disbanded by school officials in the spring of 1956 after a physical confrontation with The Redshirts, an ad hoc band of Leamington students, who attempted to crash Kingsville's Autumn Dance. Though the Redshirts, with allies from Harrow's society, The Ten Tasslers, outnumbered the LS members 3 to 1, Kingsville fought and beat back the assault. In the melee two Redshirts and one Tassler suffered broken bones. LS members suffered little to no harm. The subsequent police investigation uncovered the three organizations. Since then two notable successors of the Society, The Lighthouse Six (1971-1973) and The Minersmen (1994-1998), were established to perform largely the same function. Also, the handshake and insignia of the subsequent two mirrored that of the original. No organization is known to exist today.

[edit] Communities

Kingsville
Cottam
Ruthven (home of Colasanti's Tropical Gardens)
Cedar Beach
North Ridge

[edit] External links

Northwest: Lakeshore	North: Lakeshore	Northeast: Lakeshore
West: Essex	Kingsville, Ontario	East: Leamington
Southwest: Lake Erie	South: Lake Erie	Southeast: Pelee Island

v • d • e

Essex County, Ontario

	Topics on Essex County, Ontario
Transportation	Current Provincial Highways: Highway 3 • Highway 77 • Highway 401 Former Provincial Highways: Highway 2 • Highway 39 • Highway 98 • Highway 107 • Highway 114 Essex County Roads: County Roads • Roads Template Railways: Essex Terminal Railway • Windsor Subdivision • Chatham Subdivision • CASO Subdivision
Municipalities	Amherstburg • Essex ¹ • Kingsville • Lakeshore • LaSalle • Leamington • Township of Pelee Island • Tecumseh • Windsor ²
Communities	Belle River³ • Colchester • Comber • Cottam • Deerbrook • Emeryville • Harrow³ • Maidstone • Malden Center • McGregor • Oldcastle • Puce • River Canard • Ruthven • St. Clair Beach³ • St. Joachim • Seacliffe • Stoney Point • Woodslee
Attractions and Parks	Point Pelee National Park • Fort Malden National Historic Park • Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary • Colasanti's Tropical Gardens • ERCA • Chrysler Canada Greenway • Trans-Canada Trail
Geography	Bois Blanc Island • East Sister Island • Fighting Island • Middle Island • Peche Island • Pelee Island • Point Pelee
Related Topics	Detroit, Michigan • Detroit River • Windsor • Ontario
¹ County seat. ² Separated Municipality, as of 1998. ³ Formerly a separate municipality, merged into another as of 1998.