Grosse

The Jesuit Pear Trees and the Detroit Region Tecumseh, Ontario The trees known as the "Jesuit pear trees" can be considered as reliable indicators of the presence of a French-speaking community in the Detroit region and are evidence of the impressive length of time this community has been established on both the American and Canadian sides of the international border that now runs down the middle of the Detroit River. (NOTE 1)   A few dozen specimens of the tree can be found on each side of the border, from the mouth of Lake Erie to the shores of Lake St. Clair.  The trees that remain in the city of Windsor are mostly concentrated along the Detroit River and the streets marking the second and third land concessions granted to the first settlers in the 18 th and 19 th centuries.  Most of the villages established by French settlers in the Canadian counties, including in Essex County, as well as along the shores of Lake St. Clair, still have a few venerable survi...