Warwick Township
A farming township between London and Sarnia, centred on Watford. Home to one of Lambton County's best-kept conservation areas and a homegrown invention that once turned down Henry Ford.
What makes it unique
The Watford Library is the only Carnegie library in Lambton County still in active use — one of only 111 ever built in Ontario, and over a century old. A few minutes' drive away, the Warwick Conservation Area protects a provincially significant wetland, with a boardwalk trail through it that turns up wetland plants you won't see just anywhere.
A little history
Egremont Road was surveyed in 1832 to link London to the Lake Huron shore, and settlers followed soon after, including a group sponsored by Lord Sheffield's Petworth charity and retired British Army soldiers. Warwick Village grew up first, on Bear Creek; Watford came later and larger, once the Great Western Railway arrived in the 1850s, and was incorporated as its own village in 1873. The two merged back into a single township in 2001.
Manufacturing has its own place in that history. Don MacDermid bought an old horse barn and property in Warwick Village from Bob Warwick of Wallaceburg, who had been operating Stanton Pallets from the building. In 1970 Don started MacDermid Pallets, using the same horse barn to shelter the equipment. The family — Don, Ella, George, Anne and Ray — had moved to Warwick on July 1, 1969. By 1977 the business had outgrown the old barn; it came down to make way for a larger, more modern building. MacDermid Pallet and Lumber ran until 2003, employing around 25 workers and producing hundreds of thousands of industrial wood pallets a year before changing hands.
Places in Warwick
Next door: Brooke-Alvinston
Warwick's southern neighbour takes in Alvinston and Inwood, and it punches above its weight for family outings. A.W. Campbell Conservation Area packs 300 acres with campsites, 8 km of trails along Morrough Creek, an in-ground pool, mini golf and paddleboat rentals — plus a maple syrup festival each spring. On Father's Day weekend the Alvinston Pro Rodeo brings professional rodeo to the fairgrounds, the Brooke-Alvinston Watford Fall Fair takes over each fall, and the Alvinston to Watford Optimist Road Race has linked the two towns every year since 1958.
Claim to fame
David A. Maxwell, a local inventor, hand-built the Max Mobile in the early 1900s — widely recognized as the first handmade automobile in Canada. He reportedly turned down a business partnership with Henry Ford to keep the invention his own. The Max Mobile is still on display at the Old Firehall Museum in Watford.
Warwick is also the hometown of Lambton Family Hub's own author, who went to Warwick Central School — these days the building trains truck drivers instead, as the 5th Wheel Training Institute.
Six Things You Don't Want to Miss
Warwick Conservation Area
Forest, a lake, bike trails and 181 serviced campsites, plus a 2 km boardwalk trail through a provincially significant wetland thick with rare plants like blue flag.
Old Firehall Museum
An 1885 former fire hall, jail and council chamber turned museum — home to the Max Mobile and Watford's first fire truck, built in 1936.
Watford Carnegie Library
The only Carnegie library left in active use in Lambton County — a genuine piece of early-1900s architecture still doing its original job.
Watford Corn Fest
One of the township's biggest annual draws, pulling crowds from across the county for a day built entirely around corn.
Maple Syrup Festival
A springtime tradition celebrating the maple harvest, with local syrup, pancakes and family activities.
Silverstick Hockey Tournament
A minor hockey tournament that fills the local rinks and draws teams and families from well outside the township.