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Wallaceburg, Ontario, population centre, population 10,098 (2016 census), 10,127
(2011 census). Wallaceburg is a community located on the Sydenham River. Formerly a town (incorporated 1896), in 1998 Wallaceburg became a part of the new municipality of Chatham-Kent.
History and Economy
In the 1830s, settlers from the failed Baldoon settlement founded Wallaceburg. They named the settlement for Scottish patriot Sir William Wallace. A community began to take shape in the 1850s with the development of the lumbering industry. As the settlement was connected by water to the Great Lakes, boat building and lake freighter traffic also became important. At the end of the 19th century, logging declined and the town became known for its glass manufacturing and sugar-beet industry. Later the economy diversified into metal and plastic goods, auto parts and tool-and-die manufacturing. Pleasure boat traffic during the summer has become an important part of the tourism sector.
