Clinton News-Record, 1976-06-24, Page 81n
BY l'411Vena Erlo WTI
Bayfield, Ontario, Canada
celebrates its Centennial of
Incorporation in 4916. It is a
tribute to the forefathers of the
past and the beginning of another
era with great hopes for the
future.
Noted for its "Olde World
Charm", Bayfield is situated on
the Bluewater Route. Highway
21, on the shores of beautiful Laite
Huron, approximately 70 miles
north of the Bluewater Bridge
linking Port Huron. Mich. U.S.A.
and Sarnia, Ontario Canada; 50
miles north-west of London,
Ontario and 45 miles west of the
famed Shakespearean Festival
Theatre in Stratford. Ontario.
Baron de Tuyll. a Dutch
nobleman, living in England,
engaged Henry Wolsey Bayfield.
Atimirtilty Surveyor, who was
surveying the Great Lakes to
select sites for him. Admiral
Bayfield recommended two sites,
the Ridge north of Goderich and
land on both sides of a River 12
miles south of Goderich.
ChooSingthe latter site. Baron de
Tuyll purchased 3,000 acres from
the Canada Company, who also
supplied the pian for the town
similar to Goderich and Guelph.
The first house was built an,
what is now known as Pioneer
Park, by a man named John
Riley in 1833. Mr. Riley kept a
boarding house for the Baron's
men. In 1834 a sort of store for
supplies was built by E.C. Taylor
and operated by John Morgan
(this store was the lower part .of
the east end of theltiver House
Hotel on Bayfield . Terrace torn
down in 1951) Taylor was one of
Goderich's earliest merchants
and one of its first settlers. He
was the Baron's Canadian agent
as the Baron never came to
Canada to see his town.
Ready for the water The Helen McLeod II looked impressive
after her face lift.
The Helen McLeod 11 a fishing boat of Louis McLeod was
restored in Belle Isle, Michigan.
am° HATS OFF
TO
VILLAGE OF BAYFIELD
100 YEARS YOUNG
1876 — 197.6
Member Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation
011 Thr tram, Ttlatt Campion
&word entirelt in wr i ong
thr pct'plr est Ontartr,
TICTORIA an d
TRUST COMP ANY Sirkl6E 1889,
Sorvini) & knmotina in your cornnsunity
A. A. WEATHERBY .— Manager 524.7361
100 KINGSTON ST., GOOESICIII
CLINTON NgWS-RECORD, THURSDAY. PINE 24, 1976.. -PAG _E Z1B
centennial of inc
In 1835 the timber on Clan
Gregor Square was chopped
down and logged off by the
Baron's men. In 1836 a cedar log
school 20' x30' was erected by the
Villagers on two lots donated by
the Baron.(today it is in-
corporated into "The Hut", home
of Mrs. Lucy (Woods) Diehl of
Bayfield Terrace. The summer of
1972 it was marked an historic
site and a plaque was unveiled to
commemorate the first school
house in Bayfield and in fact in all
Stanley Township, by the
Bayfield Branch Huron County
Historical Society.)
The roads to Goderich and
Grand Bend were blazed in 1836
and also the same year the road
to Brulcefield was cut butWas not
logged off until 1837. As early as
1836 the first Township meeting
was held and Wellington Connor
was appointed Clerk. He
discharged his duties without
salary for many years.
In 1837 there were about 75 men
in the settlement most of these
were transients. Only 15 able
bodied men were residents.
Hayfield became an important
trade and commerce centre in
the 1840's to 80's. Grain elevators
stood on the south side of the
harbour. These were fitted by a
trolley which came on a track
from the Signal bank. The grain
was takenfrom elevators by
scows. to the barges that waited
outside the harbour. The com-
mercial fishing industry
flourished and even today. eight
fishing tugs operate froni the
harbour. Between 1875 and 1878
the Harbour was completed.
In 1879 the Village was the
centre of quite a local trade.
boasting six general stores. one
tin and stove store, two harness
shops, three tailor shops. two
boot and shoe shops. two cabinet
makers, three wagon shops. two
blacksmith shops, one(water)
grist and flour mill, one saw mill,
plaiting and shingle. two
cooperages, one cider mill. one
brewery, five churches. one
school. one Montreal Telegraph
Office, one daily mail run from
Seaforth. four licensed and three
temperance hotels. one Orange
Hall and one Barkers Hall.
In the booming clays. the
Village boasted competent
cricket, football and baseball
teams and many a geed match
was played on Clan Gregor
Square. Bayfield once had a
curling Club which played on the
Bayfield River, stone shaped
picees of Wood weighted with lead
and iron rings were used as
curling rocks.
In order to construct the new
Trinity Anglican Church a kiln
was constructed in 1848 and the
bricks for the church were burnt.
This kiln was situated at the foot
of the hill below the present
residence of Mr. Emmerson
Heard on Bayfield Terraces
, On January 10,1876, the Village
of Bayfield in the County of
Huron and the Province of
Ontario was declared an
Incorporated Village by Special
Act of the Legislative Assembly
of the Province of Ontario. The
town and estate of Bayfield en-
closed an area of 1994% acres at
the mouth of the Bayfield River
and the population at that time
was 800 souls more or less.
The first council for the
Incorporated Village in 1876 were
as follows: - Reeve W.W. Connor;
councillors, John Esson. iohn
Keys, J.C. McIntosh, Andrew
Rutledge, Clerk, John Rutledge,
Treasurer. James Thompson.
Assessor; Fredrick Wood, Tax
Collector, John Wilson, Constable
Robert Baxter.
In 1927. the Village reverted to
a Police Village and the officers
• looking after the best interests of
the Village at that time were: -
Reeve. Edward F. !denier;
councillors. M. Ross. W .J.
McLeod. George Castle and Jack
Parker. The, clerk was John
Pease. It became reincorporated
again in January 1, 1965 with
Brigadier( ret. ) Frederick A.
Clift as the Reeve: Jack
Sturgeon, Joe Allaire, Frank
McFadden and Ed Oddleifson as
councillors and Phyllis Maloney
as clerk -treasurer. John Lindsay
as road superintendent. Lloyd
Makins. assessor and Building
inspector and Les Elliott as tax
collector.
The 1976 council consists of
Reeve. Ed Oddleifson: coun-
cillors, Frank McFadden. Don
Warner, Milvena Frickson(the
first woman councillor) and
Frank Burch. Gordon J. Graham
is clerk-treaSurer and John
Lindsay Road Superiatendent
Today, the Village of Bayfield
is celebrating Ploneera '76 the
100th Anniversary of Incor-
poration of the Village which has
become a service centre for the
surrounding area, a quiet
summer resort. a recreational
area for boating enthusiasts.
fishing. both commerical and
angling, and winter sports. The
winter population has declined to
approximately 500 in the past 100
years, but it more than
quadruples in the summer
months. It has a library, post
officetwo hotels - one licensed
and one not licensed. a com-
bination beer and liquor store. ,
four restaurants. four marinas.
two trailer parks. two grocery
stores. two gift shops. one antique
and gift shop. four antique shops.
a beauty and barber shop, two
garages and service stations, fire
hall. doctor, Canadian imperial
Bank of Commerce, small engine
repair and sales. hardware store.
four real estate agents: two
modern fish houses with stores;
telephone building. five chur-
ches. Orange Lodge No. 24. Art
store. paved streets, street
Lighting, community centre and
arena, town hall. municipal
building. two parks. Agricultural
grounds.
It boasts hockey teams. soccer
teams, and curling; Lions Club.
Lioness Club. Senior Citizens
Club. new Senior Citizens 17 unit
Housing project. Bayfield Branch
of the Huron County Historial
Society. church organizations.
Pioneer Park Association and a
weekly garbage collection; which
all put together make Bayfield.
Ontario. Canada one of the
busiest little Villages in Huron
County and indeed along the
shores of Lake Huron.
August 28, 1891
A London man visiting here
sunburned his nose so badly that.
when he looked out of the Iiiihdow
in the middle of the night the
roosters crowed.
I The VILLAGE MARKET
fain Street
BAYFIELD - - ONTARIO 1
*Kt
GROCERIES
GREETING
CARDS
* PATENT
MEDICINES
We are pleased to be a part of this
Community on the occasion of its
1 00th Birthday
The Village Market has been serving the commonity
for over 100 years. Again Congratulations.
For your convenlenno
STORE HOURS JULY, AUGUST— DAILY t4 — SUN. 12 NOON - 6 P.M.
•