In the late 1800s, Hiram Walker changed the landscape of South Essex when he decided to build a rail line to the property he owned at Marshfield, and onwards to Harrow and Kingsville. The very prospect of Hiram Walker’s railroad passing through Harrow stimulated development before the tracks even reached the community in September 1888.

 

The Lake Erie, Essex and Detroit River Railway brought new opportunities to Colchester Crossing (later called McGregor), New Canaan, Marshfield, and Harrow. It also spurred development of the summer tourist industry in Oxley. The word “Essex” was dropped from the railway’s name in 1891. In 1903, the Pere Marquette Railway purchased the railroad and extended it to the Niagara frontier. Trains ran from Windsor to Harrow until 1991.

 

A Bell Box mural located on Walnut Street, north of King Street was painted by Ted Hamer during the summer of 2016 and is a celebration of Hiram Walker’s railroad.