Saugeen Shores

Saugeen Shores is a town in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada, formed in the 1990s, as municipal restructuring merged the towns of Southampton, Port Elgin, and the township of Saugeen.

In addition to the two main population centres of Southampton and Port Elgin, the town also includes a portion of the communities of Burgoyne and North Bruce, straddling the municipal eastern and southern boundary respectively.

History

Saugeen Shores traces its history back to 1847 when government agents arrived to survey land at the Saugeen River's mouth. Southampton was Ontario's northernmost lake port, and the first port on the Bruce Coast. By 1852, over 12 families lived there, sustained by the thriving fishery. Settlers continued to arrive from Scotland, Ireland, England, and Germany. By 1857, there were 130 homes, six shops, two hotels, five warehouses, a planing mill, a gristmill, and a steam sawmill. Post and customs offices assured the village's growth, becoming a town in 1904. Saugeen Township's first settler, Alexander Wallace, arrived in early 1851. A few years later, land was available for two dollars an acre and earnest settlement of Bruce County's smallest township began. Land was cleared, and the rich soil yielded many agricultural products, marking the start of a still thriving industry.