Oakville Harbour - Living in Old Oakville

Old Oakville - Oakville Harbour - Lake Ontario Marinas

Oakville Harbour had it's beginnings when Colonel William Chisholm purchased 1000 acres of Crown land at the mouth of Sixteen Mile Creek in 1827.

As a man of determination and vision, Chisholm  had a dream of building the first privately owned harbour for Upper Canada.
In 1834 Oakville was declared a Port of Entry into Canada and Chisholm's dream came true.

Old growth forests still covered much of Ontario in the early 1800s and a major export from Upper Canada, via the Oakville Harbour, was pine timbers and oak staves.

As the lumber industry grew, staples such as wheat were required to feed the growing population. Storage grainaries began to flourish as wheat production increased along the rich farmlands that bordered Lake Ontario.





By the mid-1800's, a recession caused the price of wheat to drop along with a slowdown in Oakville's foundry and harbour businesses.

The industrious Oakville area farmers turned their sights on fruit production to help offset the losses in income they were experiencing from the drop in wheat prices.
Oakville became a major exporter of strawberries.

Eventually the railroad was built through Oakville and the harbour was no longer in such great demand for the delivery and exportation of supplies and goods.

With it's beautiful beaches and waterfront, Oakville became one of the most sought after holiday areas for tourists in the summer months and the Oakville Harbour at Sixteen Mile Creek once again became a hub of activity as boats by the hundreds brought wealthy summer guests.

In 1907 The Oakville Club was built and Oakville became the destination for the Royal Canadian Yacht Club Races from Toronto.

Today the Oakville Harbour, in Old Oakville, is primarily used by pleasure boaters with thousands of boaters from far and wide visiting during the busy boating season.

©2010JoSmith