The Talbot Settlement

The settlement begun in May 1803 by Thomas Talbot was despite the controversial practices of its founder one of the most successful in Upper Canada. Major roads were constructed throughout the settlement and by a system of close and personal control Talbot managed effectively to keep out land speculators and secure hard-working settlers. His extensive powers eventually brought him into conflict with the Executive Council which in 1837 transferred control of settlement in the vast territory between Norfolk county and Amherstburg to the Crown Lands Commissioner.