Goderich, Point Clark, Kinkardine and Southampton – Introducing The Scenic Huron Coast
On the eastern shore of Lake Huron, where its waters reach the bank of the province of Ontario, lie a series of limestone town, with impressive lighthouses and quaint Victorian homes. Isolated in its own corner of the province away from the larger cities, these towns have managed to retain their quaint character. Whether you want to spend a day swimming at the beach or spending a day in town the region has something to offer to everyone.
This post will cover the following locations:
- Goderich
- Point Clark
- Kincardine
- Southampton
Table of Contents
Goderich
Geography
This town is one that is surely more beautiful then the photos would indicate. Built from an octagonal street grid around the town courthouse, this area is referred to as “the Square” and it is a sublime exaple of town planning that cannot be captured by the camera at street level. To the west of it you will find the waterfront and to the north west the old county jail.
The Square (Market Square)
The Heart of old Goderich, The Square has survived tornadoes, hurricanes and fires and come out of it in relatively good condition. The courthouse itself is modern (1950’s) due to its loss in the tornado but the rest of the town is relatively intact.
The town was established by the Canada Company as their base after they acquired lands (the Huron Tract) in both 1826 and in 1827. This work was completed under Superintendent John Galt. The town continued to grow under the stewardship of Dr. William “Tiger” Dunlop who was Warden of the Forests for the Canada Company and an important developer.
The courthouse continues to be the the focus of the town life as it has always been. Many important cases has captivated the towns attention over the years and a market continues to operate in front of it and the streets surrounding it.
Speaking of which in the streets surrounding the courtyard you will find little mini outdoor markets open to visitors.
You will also find many of its opulent institutions such as the Bedford Hotel. Established in 1898 it is the crown Jewell of the town.
Adjoining the hotel you will find the Livery Theater, a place that you should check out if you get the chance. THe interior is beautiful.
Otherwise this is pretty traditional for this part of Ontario, with many beautiful commercial buildings from the 20th century lining its sides. Here you will find restaurants, a movie theater, bars, patios and other small shops.
The Jail, Huron County Museum and Dutch Liberation Park
To the north of the town you will find a small park commemorating the liberation of the Netherlands during the Second World War. Just a block over you will find a log cabin with a masonry building belonging to the Huron County Museum. This place may actually surprise you, inside you will find a wide collection of items belonging to the county. Inside you will find many industrial and historical items helping to explain what life was like in Huron County. This even includes a locomotive and a Sherman tank used in the Second World War!
There are several nice churches if you wish to walk around this neighbourhood.
The most impressive site however is that of the old Huron County Gaol. This octagonal walled building is a fantastic example of a Victorian jailhouse.
Completed in 1842, the jail was in use until 1972 and saw the last public execution in Canada. For a time it also served as a courthouse, that is until the new one in the town square was completed. Today you can book a tour of the jail if you wish.
From the road by the Jail you will get a view of the Menesetung Bridge and the Maitland River. This stream spills into Lake Huron.
South Goderich
In the south of the city you will find many of the city’s grand old Victorian homes.
Harbour and Waterfront
The Goderich Harbour can best be viewed from the Harbour Lookout point, located atop Harbour Hill, graded in 1850. Works on the complex began in 1830, completed in 1850 and finally in 1872 the first modern harbour of Goderich was created. This installation benefited from the arrival of the railroad 1858 and a grain elevator was erected in 1859. The town grew rich from salt mining salt mines on Maitland River, located neat the harbour floor mills built in the 1870’s.
On your way down to the waterfront you will pass by Lions Harbour Park, containing an old tavern and a historic marker.
Down the slope, one the waterfront, you will find the CPR station, when the completed a line into town in 1907. Service was stopped in the 1960’s and the station has now found new uses.
On the waterfront itself you will find a series of pleasant, yet small small crescent shaped beaches.
Harbour Lighthouse
Overlooking the harbor is what is considered to be the oldest Canadian light station on Lake Huron with a first iteration conceived in the 1830s. The building you see today is located at the end of a roundabout a hill overlooking Lake Huron. At the center of the roundabout is a cannon, surrounded by a fence made of maritime chains.
In the park surrounding the lighthouse you will find a memorial to the Great Lakes Storm of 1913, an even that deeply affected the citizens of the city. During the event, hurricane winds created massive wave events that cliamed a total of eight freighters and caused 265 casualties. One of the ships sunk did so off the coast of Goderich where it was blinded by snowsqualls. The vessel was called the Wexford and it went down with a with a load of grain, bodies washing up on shore the next day. The loss of the vessel, as well as the damage to the community, deeply affected the communities along the Huron Shore and prompted the construction and improvements of many marine safety features both at the lighthouse and at the docks.
The tiny lighthouse dates from 1847. Like all of the lighthouses along the shore it is painted red and white. As mentioned earlier the lighthouse saw several improvement in 1913; including being heightened five feet in and the construction new lantern room with a “double-flash long-focus reflector. There was one a light keeper’s dwelling that attached to light but was sold off, relocated and sadly demolished in 1985.
From the Lighthouse you will get a fantastic view of Lake Huron.
Point Clark
A minor stop off along the coast, Point Clark is often skipped in favor of the larger towns. This is however rather unfortunate as the town is home to what is the most likely the most impressive of the Huron lighthouses, and is considered to be one of the 6 Imperial Towers, a series of the earliest Lighthouses built on Lake Huron. The lighthouses were constructed after the construction of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal locks in 1855, en event that spurred the settlement of the Bruce Peninsula and were necessitated by the increased traffic in the Great Lakes spurred on by the construction of the canal. The stunning structure is made out of limestone and granite then painted white.
Beside it you will find a beautiful pebble beach with crystal clear water. Its a good spot for a dip.
Kinkardine
The most important of the localities mentioned in this post, Kinkardine is built around a recessed harbour tucked into the mouth of the Penetangore River. It is here that Captain Alexander M. MacGregor sailed his little schooner “THE FLY” into the mouth of the river in 1848, thus founding Kinkardine. Today this quaint harbour is home to a marine choke full of small craft, it is also where the towns overrun visitors parking is located. At its start this town was nothing but a log cabin used as a hotel. In the first years there was little but seven families.
In fact, along the river channel, heading back into town, you will find a replica schooner.
In Ojibwa (first nation language), Penetangore means “river with sand on one side”. This is a fairly accurate statement as the south side of the river is home to a perfect crescent sand beach.
Overlooking the river channel is the prettiest of the Huron lighthouses. Built in 1881, in a time where the town had expanded considerably, the lighthouse served the fishermen of the busy fishing industry. The octagonal building topped by a light and is now a museum. The lighthouse marks the start of Kinkardine’s downtown district.
The light can be accessed from the rear yard.
In front of the lighthouse you will find a marker explaining the local legend of the Phantom Piper, Donald Sinclair. Here is an exert from the Kincardine News:
Legend has it, that back in 1856 a small vessel was coming from the Port at Goderich, with a family from the Isle of Skye. As it neared the then Penetangore (now Kincardine), a storm came over the family. Sinclair’s response to the storm was to begin playing his bagpipes, a sound which carried across to land, where another piper began to play the tune in return. Hearing the pipes from land, the captain of the boat was able to make it safely to shore.
Kinkardine News, Hannah MacLeod, 2020
Opposite to the lighthouse you will find the Walker House, the oldest surviving building in kincardine (now a museum). It was built in 1850 by Francis ‘Paddy’ Walker, driving from Goderich along the ice built up on the lakeshore.
The walker house is located on Harbour Street, an important thoroughfare. From here you can either continue on Huron Terrace Road (The road parallel to the Lighthouse) to Durham Streetor or head perpendicular on Harbour Street to Queen Street, the main street.
If you chose the former, do take the time to check out the beautiful building at 250 Durham St, near the post office. It is probably the most beautiful building in the city. Durham street itself is home to many big stone houses and the tall gothic tower of the tan colored brick Knox Presbyterian Church.
Harbour street itself is one of the prettiest street in the city.
It is here that you will start finding patios and bars.
As well as an attractive collection of stone apartment blocks and storefronts.
As well as this charming mural of a steamboat entering the town, via the harbour front!
On queen street, you will find much of the towns old businesses including this retro steakhouse sign that looks like it was built into the front of an old theater.
Queen street holds a collection of stunning 20th century buildings that are typical of most main streets in ontario, the difference being is that this street is still pulsing with activity, hankering back to its glory years. In the summer its is pedestrianized and practically turned into an open air market.
During the summers the town swells with tourists and the main street becomes a hip party spot where live music is played in the bars.
At the southern end of the street you will find the masonry built Kincardine Library.
As well as this fantastic microbrewery called Grey Matter. The quaint single story buildingand particularly attractive and more importantly the beer is good!
The old town hall built in 1900 can be found just past the library. It is now a theater but its beauty speaks to the commercial importance of the settlement during the 19th century.
Behind the theater you will find Victoria Park. Here you can find two more of the towns heritage stock, including the Madison House (343 Durham Market Square) and the old United Church. The house was designated in 1985 in Second Empire-Italianate style.
Southampton
The last of our three towns, and the smallest, Southampton occupies a special place in my heart. Once a fur trading post established by the frenchman Pierre Piché in 1818, it was once occupied by the Anishnabe first nation who lived by the mouth of the Saugeen River. By 1832 the post was closed down, yet the settlement would begin in the 1848 when 1848, were Captain John Spence and William Kennedy unsuccessfully tried to establish a fishing company. The town, as you would guessed, is named after the English Chanel seaport of Southampton.
If I was to be honest with you, I did not expect much of Southampton. It is in fact the smallest of the three ports. I was primary coming in for a quick swim at the beach. Speaking of which you will find parking for the beach on High Street, not far from the massive Canada Flagpole.
At the edge of the beach you will find a set of change rooms, were you can get into you bathing suit. You will also find a little free library near a pretty #Southampton painted craft.
The beach itself is absolutely stunning with water as clear as you will find anywhere. Lake Huron is cold most of the year but by the time July and August rolls around the water is very pleasant!
Lining the beach (heading south) are a series of sand dunes. The beach itself is probably the best in the regions, stretching for kilometers on end. It contains a mix of sand and pebbles and is great for swimming.
In the dunes you will find a signpost indicating where the wreak of the H.M.S General Hunter is buried. The ship was built in 1806, a participant of the War of 1812 where it was captured by the US at the Battle of Lake Erie. It was destroyed in 1816 during when it was driven into the dunes by a storm. The dune itself protests the ship from the elements of time!
At the southern point of the beach you will see the Chantry Island lighthouse and keeper’s cottage in the distance.
The 1859 lighthouse has recently been extensively restored and turned into a bird sanctuary, thus can only be accessed by licensed tour boat from May to mid-September.
On the north side of the beach you will find the second lighthouse and some cannons, where the Saugeen river spills into lake Huron.
You will also find a small patch of grass where you can have a picknick.
The town itself contains several interesting establishments including the Walker House restorant, operating since 1915, and the Outlaw Brewing Company. The restaurant is among the oldest in Bruce county.
As for the towns institutions, across the street from the Brewing company you will find Southampton Arts Center, in what looks like it was once a red brick church. This may be worth a stop off at if you have the time. The last building of note can be found at 33 Victoria Street. This is the Old Public School, now part of the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Center. This gothic beauty built on a lake is home to many artifacts pertaining to Bruce County’s history.
Conclusion
The lake Huron waters are cool early in the year but as July rolls around the region comes to life, day trippers and cottagers alike filling the locals establishments.
