Aylmer

Aylmer is a town of about 7,700 people (2021) in Southwestern Ontario in Canada.

History
In October 1817, John Van Patter, an emigrant from New York State, obtained 80 ha of land and became the first contemporary settler on the site of Aylmer. During the 1830s a general store was opened and village lots sold in what was then called Troy. In 1835 it was renamed Aylmer after Lord Aylmer, then Governor-in-Chief of British North America. By 1851 local enterprises included sawmills and flour-mills powered by water from Catfish Creek. Aided by easy access to Lake Erie, Aylmer became by the mid-1860s the marketing centre for a rich agricultural and timber producing area. It benefited greatly from the construction of the 230-km Canada Air Line Railway from Glencoe to Fort Erie in the 1860s.

Mennonite and Amish communities
In the mid-1970s, many German-speaking Mennonites began migrating to the Aylmer area from Mexico. The Mennonites were Canadian citizens who had moved to Mexico from Manitoba and Saskatchewan during the first half of the 20th century. By the early 21st century, there was a large Mennonite population in Aylmer and the surrounding area. In addition to the Mennonite population there are sizable Dutch, German, and British descended populations in the area.

Just east of Aylmer is a sizable Old Order Amish community. This community was founded by families moving from Ohio in 1953. They were uncomfortable with a nuclear facility being constructed close to their community in Ohio. Since that time, the community has grown to encompass three "districts" the surrounding area. A number of members from this community participate in the weekly Aylmer Sales Barn and sell fruit, vegetables, eggs, and animals, such as rabbits and chickens. This Amish community eschews the use of automobiles, electricity, and most modern conveniences. An Amish publishing house, Pathway Publishers, is based in the community.

Tobacco industry
The tobacco growing industry played a large part in the economic development of Aylmer.

Ontario Police College
In 1962 a central provincial police academy was established in Aylmer. With very rare exceptions, all Police Officers in Ontario attend the college for their 15-week program in order to receive their Basic Constables diploma. Once they have received the diploma and after they have been sworn in as Peace Officers, they can then work in the Province of Ontario as police officers.

Get in

 * From London, Aylmer is 40 km away: south on Highbury Ave N (#30), and east on Ron McNeil Line (#52).
 * From Toronto, Aylmer is 190 km away: west on Gardiner Expressway/Queen Elizabeth Way to Highway 403, then southwest to Elgin Road (#52).

Get around

 * J & D's Taxi Service, +1 519-773-9566

See

 * 10,000-60,000 Tundra Swans arrive in the spring as they make their way from their wintering grounds on Chesapeake Bay, to the Arctic - where they breed. They stop over at the Wildlife Management Area near the Ontario Police College on Hacienda Road, located on the north-east side of Aylmer. A Swan Line (+1 519-773-7926) provides daily updates about the number of swans arriving from the last week of February to the end of March or when the swans are gone.

Sleep
Some limited B&B style accommodation can be found in the countryside, and camping is possible at the Springwater Conservation Area during summer.

Hotels are available in either St. Thomas (20 minutes west) or Tillsonburg (25 minutes east).

Go next

 * Bayham — a rural area than includes Port Burwell, and its lighthouse, marine museum and provincial park.
 * St. Thomas (Ontario) — celebrates its history as a railway junction with an impressive railway museum, the railway hall of fame housed in the old train station and railway office, and an elevated park on an old railway bridge. A life-sized statue commemorates Jumbo the circus elephant, struck and killed by a locomotive in town.
 * Port Stanley — one of Lake Erie Shore's small historic harbours, today a beach town with a main street offering some small inns, dining and shopping.
 * London — the nearest major community, and the largest city in Western Ontario.