Founder of the "Talbot Settlement," he was born at Castle Malahide, Ireland, a member of the Anglo-Irish nobility. In 1805, after serving in the British Army, and on Simcoe's staff, he was granted political 5,000 acres in this region and settled in Dunwich Township. Through political and family influence, he obtained extraordinary powers to promote colonization. Talbot built mills, supervised the construction of a 300-mile road paralleling Lake Erie, established thousands of settlers in his "principality," and controlled the settlement of London. In 1817, St. Thomas was named for him. Eccentric and authoritarian, patrician in his manner and conservative in his views, by 1837 he had successfully organized settlement in twenty-seven townships from Long Point to the Detroit River.

Location

At the Elgin County Court House, Wellington Street, St. Thomas

Themes

• Communities
• People