Port Elgin's development began when, in 1854, Benjamin Shantz, one of Saugeen Township's early settlers, acquired from George Butchart a sawmill on Mill Creek. Nearby, he built a grist mill and, within three years, a community of 250 people had developed around these mills. Stores, hotels and tanneries were constructed and, in March 1857, a village plot named Port Elgin was laid out. The enterprise of its businessmen, notably Henry Hilker, Samuel Bricker and John Stafford, contributed to the development of the settlement, which had a population of over 600 by 1867. The arrival of the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway in 1872 further stimulated the growth of the community and it was incorporated as a village in 1874 with a population of about 950.

Location

At Park Place, Park Place Road just off Goderich Street or Highway 21, Port Elgin

Themes

• Communities
• Industry and trade
• Transportation systems and communications