First, why is it called Port Burwell? Because Col. Mahlon Burwell (1783-1846) surveyed the land here, completing the job in 1810-11. While dividing Bayham and Malahide townships into lots for settlers, he selected a block of land in Bayham for himself at the site that is now the village. Eventually, about 1830, he surveyed his plot into streets and building lots as well. He likely recognized that the nearby Big Otter Creek and harbour would provide a useful water route for landlocked communities to the north. In time, Port Burwell became a shipbuilding and fishing harbour and an export point for lumber and farm produce from surrounding townships. It wasn't really until the 1920s, in a more leisurely age, that the port became a summertime tourist destination, known for its beach.
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| Burwell family graves at Trinity Anglican. |
The church itself, at Strachan and Pitt streets, is a simple early Gothic Revival building, paid for with financial assistance from Mahlon himself. Strachan Street would be named after The Venerable John Strachan, Archdeacon of York, who preached the first sermon at Trinity.
The village is also the location of the Port Burwell Marine Museum and Historic Lighthouse. The museum pays tribute to the village's history as a shipbuilding centre. A better than average community museum, it's filled with artifacts from Lake Erie shipwrecks, as well as anchors, foghorns, and other nautical stuff. There's even the wheelhouse from a Great Lakes freighter.
Recently I heard a rumour that the Municipality of Bayham was planning alterations to the lighthouse in another upcoming restoration. Word on the street was that the clapboard would be replaced with Hardie cement board and the wooden door with fiberglass. However, reaching out to Bayham Municipal Council for more information, I was told that staff will be consulting architects qualified in historical structures to identify appropriate options.
[Update: April 2023: Bayham Township is undertaking a stabilization and restoration project on the lighthouse. Much needed since the road to the beach had to be closed in recent months, just in case the structure toppled over in high winds. Work is being conducted by Heritage Restoration Inc. of Stouffville.]
Port Burwell's other nautical exhibit is the HMCS Ojibwa, a retired Canadian Navy Cold War submarine moved here in November 2012. The sub has nothing to do with the lake port, of course, but organizers hoped it would complement the marine museum and lighthouse. Villagers may have hoped that droves of tourists would arrive to tour the sub and, while there, would eat at a village restaurant, buy ice cream, shop, attend the local theatre ... you get the picture. I'm not sure if the dreamed-of crowds actually came but the Ojibwa is still there, open during summer for tours, so tour it we did. I'm sorry it took me so many years to get around to it.
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| HMCS Ojibwa |
Elgin County Tourism calls Port Burwell the "Jewel of Erie's North Shore" that "really knows how to live it up!" This is propaganda, of course; even Port Stanley is more exciting. Still, our small towns and villages need all the support they can get. Port Burwell deserves more than just an A for Effort. Its attractions are worth seeing. Visit Mahlon's place when you get a chance.
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| Port Burwell postcard, dated 1909 by a former owner (The blogger's collection). |
Very interesting! Thanks Jenny
ReplyDeleteThe day I visited the Ojibwa, there were four men sitting in the shade of the sub, resting between conducting tours. Ian Raven was one, he being the Elgin Military Museum Curator and as noted, the one man instrumental in having the sub on site. He is a tireless worker and great guy to know. The other three men were all veterans of the sub’s crew. For term of service, that is toiling away under the towering waves above (a sure way to avoid seasickness I was told) it varied. One man was almost a rookie having spent a mere year within the cramped confines (one more than I could tolerate). The second sailor spent a respectable five years leaving the third veteran to trump all their combined service – he was under the seas for thirty-two years, that’s one less than the sub was operational! After hearing this revelation and watching him for a bit, I joked that he looked almost normal.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your blog post—it brought back so many wonderful memories!
ReplyDeleteI’ve visited the submarine twice, and each time I considered it one of the best tours of my life. A low-budget movie, “What Lurks Beneath” (2024), was filmed inside the submarine in Port Burwell—I even watched it on Tubi.
I’ve also read quite a bit about the history of Port Burwell: the Ashtabula and its tragic end, coal shipping, shipbuilding, and the tobacco farms. Once, I drove to Port Stanley and had a chance to speak with a train engineer who operated the tourist railway. He told me that he had driven the last train that ever left Port Burwell. I also enjoy the provincial park, where I’ve camped many times. On two occasions, I paddled several kilometers up Big Otter Creek to Vienna and back—using my cheap inflatable kayak.
When I first brought my girlfriend to that area in 2014, we stopped in the town of Vienna. While doing her research, she somehow got the impression (apparently from a phone conversation with a park office employee!) that the town resembled the capital of Austria. I didn’t correct her and instead played along, telling her that there was indeed an impressive opera house and that Bizet’s Carmen was currently being performed. She became quite excited about attending.
“Why didn’t you tell me that in Toronto?” she asked. “I would have brought more formal attire!”
When we finally arrived in Vienna, I couldn’t help but laugh. It turned out to be a very small farming community, with just a handful of shops. Pointing to a larger, somewhat dilapidated barn-like building, I asked her, “Perhaps this is the opera house?”
While camping in Port Burwell in 2006, I noticed an announcement at the local library about Fred Bodsworth—a well-known author, journalist, and naturalist who was born there in 1918—who was planning to visit his hometown and sign his books. Although I wasn’t going to be there at the time, I managed to buy one of his most famous works, “The Last of the Curlews” (with his autograph!). Fred Bodsworth passed away in 2012; later, I visited his grave at the local cemetery.
It is always such a pleasure to return to that area!
Thank you, Jack.
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