French colonists had settled along what became the Canadian side of the
Detroit River during the colonial era, establishing small farms. The
Petite Côte settlement was founded along the river to the north. In 1796, after losing the Thirteen Colonies following the American Revolutionary War, the British established Fort Malden as a military
fort overlooking the river's mouth at Lake Erie. It was occupied as a garrison. This stimulated development in the area, as did the Crown granting land in Upper Canada to
Loyalists (now known as
United Empire Loyalists) in compensation for losses in the Thirteen Colonies, or as payment for service in the military during the war. , built in 1819 The Crown also wanted to increase population and development in Upper Canada. The new settlers built many of their houses in the French style of a century before, giving the new town a historic character. French-speaking colonists also settled here, some of whom were descendants of soldiers and traders associated with Fort Detroit, or other early colonists. They were known as Fort Detroit French, in contrast to later migrants of the 19th century from Quebec, who became known as Canadian French. St. Jean was their Catholic church. During the days of the
Underground Railroad before the
American Civil War, refugee
African-American slaves often crossed the Detroit river to escape to freedom in Canada, after the Crown abolished slavery. Although Michigan was a free state, slavecatchers went to Detroit trying to capture slaves and take them to owners for bounty. Detroit abolitionists William Lambert and especially
George DeBaptiste were key to helping the slaves escape. DeBaptiste owned a lake steamboat that he used to offload refugees in town while docked ostensibly to load lumber. They used Fort Malden as one of several entry points to Canada. The town is mentioned in
Uncle Tom’s Cabin as the entry point of George and Eliza, after escaping from slavery in the United States. By 1869, the town of Amherstburg in the Township of Malden, County of Essex had a population of 2,500. When the fort was no longer needed for military purposes, the government adapted it for use as a provincial "lunatic asylum". Its main building was later used as a Port of Entry, Money Order office, Post Office & savings bank. Amherstburg was incorporated as a town in 1878. The town is named after
Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, commander of the British forces and
first British Governor General of the Province of Quebec (1760). In 1998, The Town of Amherstburg absorbed the neighbouring Township of Anderdon (to its northeast) and Township of Malden (to its southeast) to form a larger Town of Amherstburg. At 20:01
Eastern Daylight Time on April 19, 2018, a
magnitude 3.6 earthquake (with a depth of ) occurred in Amherstburg, between the main portion of town and
McGregor. No damage was reported, but the 30-second shaking was felt in
Windsor,
Downtown Detroit, and the
Downriver communities across the river, such as
Grosse Ile, Michigan. Some minor shaking was felt as far away as
Toledo, Ohio along Lake Erie and
Ann Arbor in the interior of Michigan. ] The Amherstburg Police Service was dissolved at the end of 2018, with its officers and responsibilities transferred to a detachment of the
Windsor Police Service. ==Education==