Lambton County

Lambton
—  County  —
Location of Lambton County
Coordinates: 42°54′N 82°06′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Formed	1849
County seat	Wyoming
Municipalities	List City of Sarnia Municipality (city) of Lambton Shores Town of Petrolia Town of Plympton-Wyoming Township of Brooke-Alvinston Township of Dawn-Euphemia Township of Enniskillen Township of St. Clair Township of Warwick Village of Oil Springs Village of Point Edward
Area
• Land	3,002.07 km2 (1,159.11 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	126,199
• Density	42.0/km2 (109/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Website	www.lambtononline.ca/

Lambton County is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county is located in Southwestern Ontario. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which flows into the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake Saint Clair and Chatham-Kent, another county in Ontario. Lambton County's eastern border follows the Ausable River north until it reaches Lake Huron at the beach community of Grand Bend. The county seat is in the Town of Plympton-Wyoming.

Lambton County started as a part of the District of Hesse. The district of Hesse included British territories west of Long Point, (practically all of western Ontario). The district was latter divided and renamed using English district names (Essex, Suffolk, Kent, etc.). Lambton was part of Kent county. In 1849 districts were abolished and the County of Lambton was formed. Lambton and Kent first shared the capital city of Sandwich (since renamed as Windsor, Ontario). In 1852 the partnership was dissolved and Lambton become a full county. It is named in honour of the Earl of Durham who lived in Lambton Castle.

The largest city in Lambton County is Sarnia, which is located at the mouth of the St. Clair River. The two Blue Water Bridges cross the river at Sarnia, connecting it to Port Huron, Michigan. The bridges are one of the busiest border crossings between the two countries. The river is also traversed by two passenger ferries further south, and a rail tunnel, also at Sarnia, runs underneath it. The CN rail tunnel accommodates double stacked rail cars.

Subdivisions

Cities and Towns

• City of Sarnia
• Municipality (city) of Lambton Shores
• Town of Petrolia
• Town of Plympton–Wyoming

Townships and Villages

• Township of Brooke-Alvinston
• Township of Dawn-Euphemia
• Township of Enniskillen
• Township of St. Clair
• Township of Warwick
• Village of Oil Springs
• Village of Point Edward

First Nation reserves

The Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation occupy the Kettle Point area, separate from the surrounding municipality of Lambton Shores but included in the county. The Aamjiwnaang First Nation is located in the shadows of many of the refineries in Sarnia's Chemical Valley. Walpole Island also has a First Nation community, near Wallaceburg.

Demographics

Historic populations:

• Population in 2001: 126,971
• Population in 1996: 128,975

Economy

An oil well near Sarnia

Total employment for Lambton County (including the City of Sarnia) is 66,370. Of those 9,760 (14.7%) are employed in manufacturing; 7,545 (11.4%) in retail trade; 5,080 (7.7%) in accommodation and food services; and 3,155 (4.8%) are employed in agriculture.

Petrochemical and refining is the largest manufacturing sector in Lambton County's economy. Established during World War II, Sarnia and the area along the St. Clair River is home to a major processing centre for oil from Alberta.

In late 2010 and early 2011 a number of companies announced plans to provide ethane from the Marcellus Shale in the USA to Lambton County industries; providing a potential new feedstock for the production of ethylene in Lambton County.

Lambton County is the site of North America's first drilled commercial oil well at Oil Springs in 1858.

Tourism is another important industry in Lambton County, especially along the lake and river. The community of Grand Bend, and the Pinery Provincial Park are especially popular tourist destinations, attracting thousands of people each week throughout the summer to their long, uninterrupted beaches. The part of Lambton County along Lake Huron known as Lambton Shores depends almost entirely upon the seasonal industries of tourism and agriculture for its well-being. There are also popular conservation areas along the St. Clair River, and a conservation area named Rock Glen Falls near Arkona along the Ausauble River internationally known for its Devonian Era fossils.

Lambton County has 2,346 farms with a total of 592,793 acres. The largest single use of farmland in Lambton is crop production,with 85% of total farmland reported as land in crops. Over the last 20 years soybeans, wheat, and grain corn have accounted for over 80% of total area crop production in Lambton. The fourth and fifth leading crops are sugar beets and hay. Among other crops oats, barley and mixed grains are also produced. Top animal production includes dairy, beef, hog, and poultry...

The Blue Water Bridges

Highways

• Ontario Highway 402 ends in Sarnia at the Blue Water Bridge, where it meets at the U.S. border and connects with
• I-69 and I-94.

Communities

Alvinston Arkona Brigden Brights Grove Corunna Courtright

Forest Grand Bend Petrolia Port Franks Port Lambton Sarnia

Sombra Thedford Walpole Island Watford Wyoming

See also

• List of Ontario Census Divisions

External links

• Lambton County - The Corporation of the County of Lambton.
• Ontario Visual Heritage Project: Sarnia-Lambton
• Historic bridges in Lambton County
• Lambton County History
• The Lambton Shield | Sarnia-Lambton Online News.
• Grand Bend Strip community newspaper - serving north Lambton County (Grand Bend and Port Franks).