HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-06-30, Page 66Faintly visible on the bow of the tug in t e picture is the name James Clark.
The lark was ard here in
icture may
ha eCbeen takenUsome years later. ilt in the arlton Richard Hawley but3,
had sathe 1plant on a
.
y- )lain never made it here
G�odingand. Deschanip first
harbor lot, and another building loo
difficult now. River diversion and co
completed in 1865.
like a sawmill, but identification
truetlon of the present harbor w
Henry Wolsey Bayfield
started it all, when he sur-
veyed the, coast of Lake
Huron and mapped a river -
mouth at the site of thefuture
Goderich. Bayfield had•been
appointed Admiralty
hydrographer for British
North America, and spent six
years. 1917-23 on Lakes Erie
and Huron. Canada Company
directors in London. scanning
the Admiralty map, hitched
their million -acre land
purchase in Upper Canada to
this potential port, though
there was no road, to it from
the settled part of the
country.
When Dr.. William Dunlop
and party arrived here in
.lune of 1827, through the
trackless bush, they must
have been as startled as
Robinson Crusoe over his
Friday footstep in the, sand
when they encountered
William Fisher Gooding and
Frank Deschamp at the little
store they had erected beside
the river, for trade with the
Indians. They had en
voyaging to this post since the
summer of 1826 and probably
were the first white men to
call in here.
(1f you are thinking of
Champlain, forget it. Many
writers have placed him in
these parts when he visited
friendly Indian tribes in 1616,
but Charles Garrod, writing
• in the Ontario Historical
Society's magazine,
examines "an Ontario myth"
d states: "Far from
an
reaching the Bruce Penin-
sula, Owen Sound or the
Saugeen. Champlain's entire
,journey was within the
confines of Simcog county. )
Gooding was first with a
commercial boat. anyway.
probably a small schooner.
He had come. one authority
states. "from the mouth of
the Grand River, and as there
was nothing then at the site of
the Suture Dunnville, it must
he assumed that the traders
obtained. their supplies
somewhere inland.
From.'commencement of
the Goderich settlement,
there was great need for
communication with Detroit,
as a base of supplies, and in
later years in.cQnnection with
a small export trade. In 1835.a
to::74440iteti
man named Berryman built a
boat behind his store on
Kingston Street, and it was
"taken to Detroit."
About that time the Canada
.Company built a small
steamer which operated to
and from Detroit, and Cap-
tain George Crabb ran a
steamer, the Mary Ann, to
Detroit and Montreal,
bringing supplies to his
brother Christopher's store
on I: ingston street. In later
years there was intermittent
passenger service from
Detroit to Goderich and Owen
Sound, provided by U.S.
steamers.
There had to be piers of sr
sort to make the . Maitland
River moutha harbor, even
in"favorable' weather. .Piers -
and cribs were built by
Canada Company in 1835 bu
allowed to decay. The Cr
granted a new lease to the
Buffalo & Lake Hut(
Railway Company, on
undertaking that it make
maintain a harbor suific
to accommodate the lar
vessels then on Lake Hu
and the company did
tensive harbor work, but
tiny harbor was hazardous,
shippingjor a half -century,
Some of that early,pil
remained long after theri
was diverted and was visi
off the bathing beach.
those days piles were o
driven in by using teams
horses. A mechanical tr
was used. and when tit
Turn -to page 2
0
Congratulates Goderich
150th Birthday
rAtisiESE
AND CANADIAN FOOD
We are pleased to have served'the .
people of Goderich & Surrounding area
and hope to continue for many more years
Sincerely Jim and Janet Sold
Phone: 514-524-2242 The Square, Goderich
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