View source for Thamesville

{{Short description|Settlement in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2013}}
[[File:Thamesville ON.JPG|right|thumb|250px|Former townhall]]
[[File:Thamesville welcome sign.jpg|thumb|Thamesville welcome sign displaying various community organizations]]
[[File:Bulldog Steel Wool.jpg|thumb|Bulldog Steel Wool factory - Thamesville]]

'''Thamesville''' is a community in [[Chatham-Kent, Ontario|Chatham-Kent]], [[Ontario]], Canada.  It is located at the junction of former provincial [[Ontario Provincial Highway 2|Highways 2]] and [[Ontario provincial highway 21|21]], between [[Chatham, Ontario|Chatham]] and [[London, Ontario|London]].  Its name comes from the [[Thames River (Canada)|Thames River]] that flows nearby and the [[suffix]] -"ville".  Post office established in 1832.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hamilton|first=William|title=The Macmillan Book of Canadian Place Names|publisher=Macmillan|year=1978|isbn=0-7715-9754-1|location=Toronto|pages=174}}</ref>

It has a very small downtown with several restaurants and stores. Students get bussed to [[Dresden, Ontario|Dresden]] for Secondary Education, at Lambton-Kent Composite School or other local secondary schools such as, Ursuline College Chatham, Chatham-kent composite school, and Ridgetown District high-school. Thamesville has one Public Elementary School (Thamesville Area Central School), and one Catholic Elementary School (Good Shepherd Catholic School).

It is the home of the Threshing Festival, which is held annually in the month of June. The Threshing Festival's main attraction is the midway and the large parade held on the first night of the Festival.<ref name="CKinfo" /> The festival sticks to its "rural roots" by featuring such events as: Lawnmower races, Farmer Olympics, and Frog Jumping contests.

The former town hall (right) is now a public library and museum.

Near Thamesville is the site of a famous battle in the [[War of 1812]]. It is there that Shawnee leader [[Tecumseh]] was killed during the [[Battle of the Thames]]. In tribute to this war hero, a monument stands across from the field where the battle occurred.<ref name="CKinfo" />

Thamesville is also the birthplace of famous Canadian author [[Robertson Davies]] who wrote the [[Deptford Trilogy]] of novels (''[[Fifth Business]]'', ''[[The Manticore]]'', and ''[[World of Wonders (novel)|World of Wonders]]''), in which Thamesville is fictionalized as the town of Deptford, Ontario.<ref name="CKinfo">{{cite web|url=http://portal.chatham-kent.ca/newcomers/CHOOSECK/OURCOMMUNITIES/Pages/thamesvillepage.aspx |title=Thamesville |publisher=Municipality of Chatham-Kent |accessdate=December 28, 2018}}</ref>

Bulldog Steel Wool is manufactured in Thamesville.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bulldogsteelwool.ca/en/ |title=Bull Dog Steel Wool |website=Bulldogsteelwool.ca |access-date=August 24, 2013}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
In the [[2021 Canadian census|2021 Census of Population]] conducted by [[Statistics Canada]], Thamesville had a population of 774 living in 345 of its 364 total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:774-861}}|861|1}} from its 2016 population of 861. With a land area of {{cvt|2.22|km2}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|774|2.22|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.<ref name=2021census>{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=9810001201 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places | publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] | date=February 9, 2022 | accessdate=Sep 2, 2022}}</ref>

==Notable people==
* Birthplace of author [[Robertson Davies]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Ontario}}
* [[List of unincorporated communities in Ontario]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.chatham-kent.ca/Newcomers/ChooseCK/OurCommunities/Pages/thamesvillepage.aspx Thamesville on Chatham-Kent Community Portal]

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[[Category:Communities in Chatham-Kent]]
[[Category:Designated places in Ontario]]