Point Edward 1679-1981

by Jean Turnbull Elford in Canada West’s Last Frontier (1982) Point Edward, Lambton’s largest incorporated village, placed where Lake Huron empties into the River St. Clair, made its way into recorded history earlier than any other part of Lambton. The first written account comes from the pen of Father Hennepin [...]

2015-09-03T17:24:21-04:00September 3rd, 2015|Comments Off on Point Edward 1679-1981

Sarnia’s First Refinery

by Phil Egan - Special to The Sarnia Journal (2015)   In his 1961 book, A History of the Chemical Industry in Lambton County, R.W. Ford describes the Bushnell Refinery, built in 1871, as the “first of Sarnia’s refineries.” Records indicate, however, that this information is not correct. Sarnia’s earliest refinery [...]

2015-09-02T02:34:40-04:00September 2nd, 2015|Comments Off on Sarnia’s First Refinery

A Brief History of Imperial Oil

Courtesy of Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership (2015) Imperial Oil Products & Chemicals Division has deep roots in Lambton County. Its corporate history dates to September 8, 1880, when 16 Canadians involved in the early oil industry combined their resources to form the Imperial Oil Company. The original head office was [...]

2015-08-25T17:42:11-04:00August 25th, 2015|Comments Off on A Brief History of Imperial Oil

Shell Canada

Synopsis courtesy of Shell (2015) Shell’s Sarnia Manufacturing Centre is located on the St. Clair Parkway, about ten kilometres south of Sarnia between Froomfield and Corunna. The plant employees 350 full-time employees and has a capacity of 75,000 barrels of crude oil daily. Its products include gasoline, distillates, liquid petroleum [...]

2015-08-21T14:48:28-04:00August 21st, 2015|Comments Off on Shell Canada

Sarnia War Hero Recalled as Champion for Peace

by Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer (2009) A Sarnia war hero who became a crusader for peace has died. Joe Egan, who was also a noted community activist and businessperson, was 87.  A graduate of Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School, Egan volunteered for duty with the Royal Canadian [...]

2015-08-26T01:44:42-04:00July 6th, 2015|Comments Off on Sarnia War Hero Recalled as Champion for Peace

London’s Loss was Sarnia’s Gain

by Paul Morden for the Sarnia Observer (2014) Sarnia was actually Canada’s  second, or perhaps even third, Chemical Valley. By 1914, the year Sarnia became a city, its Imperial Oil refinery employed 1,200 workers, covered nearly 110 acres on the St. Clair River and manufactured products ranging from kerosene to [...]

2015-06-22T15:26:20-04:00June 22nd, 2015|Comments Off on London’s Loss was Sarnia’s Gain

Creation of Petrosar Fueled Building Boom

by Scott Stephenson for the Sarnia Observer (2003) The last big construction boom in the Chemical Valley occurred almost 30 years ago [Editor’s Note-story written in 2003], fueled by the creation of Petrosar. As the country moved out of the 1960s and into the 1970s, Sarnia’s petrochemical industry was ailing. [...]

2015-08-23T01:34:22-04:00June 22nd, 2015|Comments Off on Creation of Petrosar Fueled Building Boom

C.D. Howe Takes a Chance on Sarnia

by Paul Morden for the Sarnia Observer (2014) If it weren’t for an American-born engineer who earned the nickname “minister of everything” during his long career in Canadian politics, Sarnia might never have become home to the country’s Chemical Valley. Chosen by Prime Minister Mackenzie King to lead efforts to [...]

2015-07-28T19:19:28-04:00June 17th, 2015|Comments Off on C.D. Howe Takes a Chance on Sarnia

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