Port Elgin tourist information
Port Elgin Ontario
Located on the shore of Lake Huron, Port Elgin is a bustling community with an excellent variety of accommodation, services and outdoor fun which makes it aa popular destination for visitors.
With a population of over 7,000, Port Elgin is the largest town in Bruce County and is now a part of the larger Town of Saugeen Shores which takes in Southampton and Saugeen Township.
On a sandy ridge overlooking Lake Huron, on a summer day over six and a half centuries ago the beginnings of a long love affair originated. This love affair was between the residents and visitors of the lakeside community of Port Elgin. The first residents were a small party of First Nation people who began the erection of a new village. As time passed, the village flourished and a thriving pastoral community of close to five hundred inhabitants developed. Just as suddenly as it appeared it vanished. (That site is now known as "Nodwell Park"). That was not the end of a community - but the first in a series of visitors and settlers who were drawn to this lakeside community.
The site on which Port Elgin grew had great potential from the beginning. Port Elgin was situated amidst well-timbered farmland and adjacent to a natural harbour. The harbour was host to a constant flow of settlers pouring into the area as it was being surveyed in the early 1850s. the initial settlement of Port Elgin and area coincided with a significant period of agricultural development in Southern Ontario and the Town quickly developed into an important service centre for the surrounding farm community.
As this agricultural period progressed, Port Elgin's importance as a rural service centre continued to grow. The community's agricultural function was enhanced by the Town's location on the shore of Lake Huron. The natural harbour was ideal for incoming ships laden with timber, coal, general merchandise and passengers. Port Elgin developed a wide array of industrial and commercial services associated with the agricultural and marine economy of the period.
The latter 1800s represented a peak development period for the most of Southern Ontario. The period between 1900 and 1950, however, was one in which the economic trends moved away from the rural/agricultural base to urban industrial. Revolutionary improvement in transportation in the form of the automobile and increased mechanization of farm operations combined to bring about the decline of the rural community as the dominant settlement pattern of Southern Ontario. As economic activity began to centralize in urban centres and road systems improved, many businesses in small towns and villages faded, and, as a direct result, many people moved away from the rural areas.
Port Elgin's population peaked in the latter decades of the 19th century, then suffered significant decline through the early 1900l before stabilizing over the next 60 years. During this period, many business establishments either closed down or moved to larger, more centralized urban locations.
Recent years have seen a population resurgence in the rural community. Trends in urbanization and centralization have reversed to some degree and many small towns have experienced increases in population. Port Elgin's population increased greatly between 1961 and 1981. Much of this increase occurred between 1971 and 1976 and coincided with the initial construction phases of the Bruce Nuclear Power Development. The population rose to over 5,000 by 1976 and over 6,000 by the 1980s.
Port Elgin's resurgence is largely attributable to the Bruce Nuclear Power Development. The Town no longer maintains its former importance as a commercial harbour facility, but has developed a significant tourist/recreational function. The community offers a variety of cultural, recreational, retail and financial services as well as several small industrial establishments. Port Elgin's picturesque setting and friendly people offer and ideal environment for families to live and businesses to flourish.
Port Elgin aerial map
Please click on any icon on the Port Elgin aerial tourist map, to find close by places, offering hotels and tourist information. You can zoom in and zoom out our touristical map as well as switch between satelite and map view of Port Elgin.
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