Parks Canada signed an agreement with Huron Township in 1987 that allowed the community to set up a museum in the keeper’s dwelling. Gwen Harrison was hired and given a budget of $50,000 to establish the museum, and the site was opened to the public on June 18, 1988. Deteriorated stone on the face of…
Category: History of Point Clark
8. 1950s and 1960s
In the 1950s the southern part of Point Clark was sold to cottagers such as Leo Rosinke, the Beiyer, Dodsons, Cooper, Querengesser, Bayer, Kipfer, Rogers, Chenault, Hornung, Braun, McGlaughlan, Hummels, Reicks, Lattner, Heer, Carter, Pole, Coughlin, Vines and Tamowski families. These families were from the Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Stratford, Listowel, London and Preston (now Cambridge) Ontario…
7. 1940s and 1950s
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Sheills family sold land acquired to cottagers around the present day Attawandron road and Huron road areas. At that time, there was a road that went in front of the cottages and today it is still a road right of way that many people use as a trail…
6. 1920s and 1930s
During the 1920s, Kuntz breweries and later Carlings breweries were prohibited from selling beer in Canada. Land was bought by their employees and used to smuggle booze across Lake Huron to Michigan. There was an attempt to automate the lighthouse in 1920s. Point Clark’s Lighthouse was automated after the 1924 shipping season, eliminating the need…
5. First Cottages are Built
By the turn of century in 1900s, Point Clark had become a popular location for picnics and day outings. The first cottage was built in 1913 by Wm. Bradley just north of the lighthouse, and in the same year Wm. Murdie of Lucknow built one south of the Lighthouse. This was followed by several families…
4. Great Storm of 1913
Over the years several ships and boats have been wrecked off the shoals off of Point Clark. It was during the Great Storm of November 9, 1913 that bodies washed up on the following morning on the shore south of lighthouse and on present day Amberley Beach. James Carruthers The 550-foot long, 7,862-ton steel bulk…
3. Point Clark Experiences Early Growth
In 1885, a store and several buildings were erected. Other businesses, such as butcher, smoke houses, gristmills and stores, sprung up around the lighthouse. In addition, there was a saw mill, flour mill, hotel, lime kiln and a Dr. Offices but Point Clark. The flour mill was located 200 feet from the Lighthouse where Gordon…
2. The Lighthouse is Built
Due to the danger of the shoals offshore on the lake to shipping the pre-dominion government decided that a lighthouse was necessary. John Brown of Thorold was awarded the contract to build the Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in the years 1857-1858 and with stone brought on scows from north of Inverhuron. With its final…
1. Early Days of Point Clark
In 1850, this area was known simply as “The Point”. The name was then changed to “Pine Point” because a lantern was hung from a pine tree to warn sailors of the offshore shoal in pre-lighthouse days. The first settler to arrive in Point Clark was Robert Jardine who settled south of the present day…