Port Elgin, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
municipality of Saugeen Shores
Saugeen Shores, Ontario
Saugeen Shores is a town in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada, formed in the 1990s, as municipal restructuring merged the towns of Southampton, Port Elgin, and the township of Saugeen...
. Close to MacGregor Point Provincial Park
MacGregor Point Provincial Park
MacGregor Point Provincial Park is a park located on Lake Huron, off of Bruce Road 33 near Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada.The varied habitat found within the park includes a seven-kilometre stretch of coast, coastal wetlands, forests, and dunes. Although the beaches in the park can be used for...
in Bruce County
Bruce County, Ontario
Bruce County is a county in western Ontario, Canada, and includes the Bruce Peninsula. As of 2006, the population was 65,349. The area was . The county seat is Walkerton, Ontario. It is located at ....
, the community has several beaches on Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
.
The community was named after James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
Sir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
, a former Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
in 1873. Originally, the village was named Normanton. In the 1990s, Port Elgin was merged into the town of Saugeen Shores.
Economy
The original economic development of Port Elgin during the 19th century was based on its harbour facilities on Lake Huron constructed in 1857–1858. This made the village a distribution centre for the surrounding agricultural region. The increasing urbanisation of Ontario and the increased importance of the road network for transporting goods resulted in a declining economy and population. More recently, recreation and the nearby Bruce Nuclear Generating StationBruce Nuclear Generating Station
Bruce Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, in the communities of Inverhuron and Tiverton, Ontario. It occupies 932 ha of land. The facility derives its name from Bruce County in which it is located, in the former Bruce Township...
have dominated the local economy.
Town Council
Is currently composed of:- Marcel Legault, Councillor
- Diane Huber, Councillor
- Fred Schildroth, Councillor
- Taun Frosst, Councillor
- Gary Brown, Councillor
- Thead Seaman, Councillor
- Doug Gowanlock, Vice-Deputy Mayor
- Luke Charbonneau, Deputy Mayor
- Mike Smith, Mayor
Tourism
Port Elgin is renowned for its beautiful sunsetSunset
Sunset or sundown is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon in the west as a result of Earth's rotation.The time of sunset is defined in astronomy as the moment the trailing edge of the Sun's disk disappears below the horizon in the west...
s. There is a common urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
in Port Elgin that National Geographic selected the town as having the world's best sunsets. This has since been proven wrong. However, in 2007 CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
held a competition to discover the Seven Wonders of Canada
Seven Wonders of Canada
The Seven Wonders of Canada was a 2007 competition sponsored by CBC Television's The National and CBC Radio One's Sounds Like Canada. They sought to determine Canada's "seven wonders" by receiving nominations from viewers, and then from on-line voting of the short list. After the vote, a panel of...
. While not being in the top seven, Saugeen Shores and its sunsets were one the finalists.
Every year, on the first weekend in October, Port Elgin hosts a Pumpkinfest. Pumpkinfest is a competition between farmers to grow the largest pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
and other common farm crops. In 2004, a new record for the world's largest pumpkin (656 kg) was set at the festival. A new record (761 kg) was again set in 2009. Pumpkinfest also features a large classic car show that happens on both days of the festival.
The Port Elgin and North Shore Railroad
Port Elgin and North Shore Railroad
The Port Elgin and North Shore Railway is a narrow-gauge heritage railway in Port Elgin Ontario.The railway operates excursion trains along the beach on a route in downtown Port Elgin. The round trip takes approximately 20 minutes....
is located in Port Elgin.