Harrow, Ontario

Harrow is a community located in the town of Essex, Essex County, Ontario, Canada.

Hiram Walker, of Canadian Club Whisky fame is credited with putting Harrow on the map. Walker built the railroad, which then brought grain from the South end of the County into the city for use in his distillery. The tracks remained for over 100 years, and were finally removed in 1992 to be replaced with the Chrysler Canada Greenway, part of the Trans Canada Trail.

Walker's distillation operations remained in Harrow until 2009, when the Canbar, Inc cooperage closed.

Though early settlers were mostly German, a thriving community of Portuguese came later and still remain. Today Harrow is a community situated along scenic County Road 20 that offers shops and places for antique hunters. Attractions include Colio Winery and historic John R. Park Homestead.

Harrow has organized and hosted an annual agricultural fair every Labour Day weekend for over 150 years, and many people from Essex County and other parts of Ontario attend. Highlights of the fair include a mom calling contest, a pie auction, "bossy" bingo and a tractor pull. The Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Greenhouse and Processing Crops Research Centre is also located in Harrow. Atlas Tube, a unit of JMC Steel Group, owned by the Zekelman family, makes its home on the outskirts on the town.

Demographics

The 2001 Census was the last Canadian census to record demographic statistics for Harrow as a separate community. In the 2006 Census, statistics were published only for Essex.

For 2001 census:

Population:	2,935 (+4.6% from 1996)
Land area:	2.75 km²
Population density:	1,067.3 people/km²
Median age:	35.6 (males: 34.2, females: 37.1)
Total private dwellings:	1,075
Mean household income:	$29,932