Residents' Association
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What is the WHRA * Mission Statement * Boundaries * Committee members * Becoming a member Area's History Local Concerns Meetings and Events Gallery Four-Legged Residents Related Links |
Residents are asked to come forward if they have interest in working with a History Committee.
Please contact John Shields or Lesley Henshaw (905-844-0787).
You'll probably recognize the Turner Chapel on Lakeshore, but unless you've read the plaque outside you might not be aware of its history.
Read the fascinating story of Oakville's Black community as compiled by Deborah Hudson , Curator of Collections at the Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate.
The Church will has reopened as an antique shop.
Read some of the old lighthouse's history.
See a 1877 map of Oakville (click on the icon to enlarge).
From the Historical Atlas of Halton County by Walker and Miles (1877).
An old south-facing photo of the Creek (colourized).
A different time, a different season.
1948 view of West Harbour (click image to enlarge).
- Harbour - first developed by Col. Chisholm the founder of Oakville, in 1828.
- Saw Mill - opened in 1856 by Thompson Smith. Lumber was stored on the river flats until 1901 when timber got scarce in Halton, and the mill closed.
- Shipyard - Capt. James Andrews built ships here as early as 1861. Famous for ships such as "Beaver", "Invader", and "Aggie".
- Log Cabin - found inside a home located on Trafalgar Road, and moved here.
- Lighthouse - built in 1889, it was moved off of the pier in the 1950's.
- 10 Burnett St. - home of Alfred Mape, a carpenter who settled in Oakville in the 1860's.
- Tannery - built by Thompson Smith and was one of the largest Tanneries in Canada by 1900. It later changed hands and finally went broke in 1926.
- Brewery - established by two Scots in 1836, it became the towns leading industry by 1840. Sold to Thompson Smith in 1854, and at that time the daily output was about fifty gallons per day. Since demolished.
- Lumber yard - Owned by Armstrong & Marlatt at the turn of the century. The entire block with the exception of one home was the town lumber yard.
- Lakeview House - built in 1888, it was the only home on the block for many years.
- Presbyterian Church - proposed in 1836, but a site was chosen on the east side.
- Murray House - built in the 1830's for Rev. Robert Murray, a Scottish priest who moved to Kingston in 1842. Originally a one storey cottage, a second floor was added on by Willian Cantley, a banker.
- Owned by James Morgan, the headmaster of the Oakville Grammar School from 1866-68. The home was built in 1865 for Morgan.
- Lackie House - owned by Robert J. Lackie, a local Agent. It was built in 1869.
- Quinn House - built in 1857, and owned by Quinn, a local shoemaker. His descendents lived there until WW II.
- Cavan House -Thomas James Cavan lived here after sailing the Great Lakes as a mariner and ship's carpenter. The original part of the home dates to 1836. He also helped to build St. Andrews Church on the east side.
- West End Blacksmith Shop - owned by Louis Kemp in 1848. Specialized in "horses with contracted feet". Since demolished.
- African Methodist Episcopal Church - built in 1891 after fire destroyed the building on John Street. This all black church was popular because of the singing and shouting of the "o1d south" church gatherings.
- 417 Lakeshore West - built in 1853 by Rev. George Washington, it was once a one storey cottage called the Retreat. In 1873, Thigh Pullen bought it, added a second floor, and called it Rosedale Villa. It was a popular summer resort for almost 50 years.
- Congregationalist Church - a Puritan sect built it in 1842. It was sold in the 1870's, and became the British Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1889, it was burned, arson being suspected.
- Cowton House - John Cowton was a painter glazier, and paperhanger. His shop was on the front, and his home was behind it; both were built in 1857. The house is all that remains today.
- Vinegar Hill-a hill was once located here, which resembled a hill of the same name in the town of Wexford in the south of Ireland. It reminded the west side Irish residents of the Irish Rebellion, and in particular the Battle of Vinegar Hill, which took place in 1789 between Catholic rebels and King George III.
- Doty House - built for the Doty family in 1855; now replced by apartments.
- Chishoim House - the fine home which once stood here was called the "Retreat" and was built by William Chisholm's son, George King Chisholm in 1855. It has since been demolished.
- Hibberd House - built by the son of A.A.Hibberd, the co-founder of the foundery, he stayed in Oakville when his father left. He was a joiner, and built this home in 1870.
- Gulledge House - Henry Gulledge was a saddler and harness maker, who came to Oakville from England in 1835. His shop was in the east end of town, but he built this home in the 1860's.
- Foundry - the Oakville Steam Engine and Machine Works were established in 1851 by John Doty and Abiather A. Hibberd. In 1854, Hibberd left Oakville, and Doty became partners with G.K. Chisholm. The foundry flourished until the 1880's when the railway caused the foundry to lose it's advantage of transportation by water. It was located where the "Riverside" is now found.
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The Story of Oakville Harbour by Philip Brimacombe (1975) 971.3533Bri |
Oakville A Small Town 1900-1930 by Frances Robin Abhern (1981) 971.300971Ahe |
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Oakville and the Sixteen A History of an Ontario Port by Hazel C. Matthews (1953) 971.353 |
Oakville's Black History by Deborah Hudson (2000) 971.3533Hud |
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Historical Atlas of Halton County by Walker and Miles (1877) |
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