In October 1817, John Van Patter, an emigrant from New York State, obtained 80 hectares of land and became the first settler on the site of Aylmer. During the 1830’s a general store was opened and village lots sold. Originally called Troy, in 1835 it was renamed Aylmer after Lord Aylmer, then Governor-in-Chief of British North America. By 1851 local enterprises included sawmills and flour-mills powered by water from Catfish Creek. Aided by easy access to Lake Erie, Aylmer became by the mid-1860s the marketing centre for a rich agricultural and timber producing area. Benefiting greatly from the construction of the 230 km Canada Air Line Railway from Glencoe to Fort Erie, Aylmer became an incorporated village in 1872.
Today, Aylmer still displays its farming heritage but is busy developing new technologies in the fully serviced business park with direct access to both Highway 401 and Highway 3. Adjacent to, and servicing the Business Park, is a Trillium Rail Service, a short track rail service offering connectivity to the major rail services in Canada and the United States. Companies like IGPC Ethanol Inc., that produces ethanol from local corn supplies, is now a well established business.
A Royal Canadian Air Force Training Facility, RCAF Station Aylmer was located just north of Aylmer in Malahide Township from 1941 to 1961. This station is now home to the Ontario Police College and The Aylmer Wildlife Management Area. For more information on Aylmer Ontario please click here.