page_title: Southampton, Ontario
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Southampton, Ontario / History
caption_attribution_description: 146 High Street, Walker House, Southampton
context_page_description: Southampton is a community on the shores of Lake Huron in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada and close to Port Elgin. It is located at the mouth of the Saugeen River. The size of the town is 6.44 square kilometres. The permanent population in 2016 was 3,678 but the summer population is higher, due to cottagers and campers spending vacation time in the area.
  Although the community still has its own post office, and road signs indicating the name Southampton, it is no longer an entity, per se. In 1998, Port Elgin, Southampton and Township of Saugeen, all along the shores of Lake Huron, were amalgamated to form the Town of Port Elgin-Saugeen-Southampton. On December 17, 1998, the Province renamed the community the Town of Saugeen Shores. The primary employment categories are agriculture, small business, tourism and the Bruce Power nuclear power station which is 40 kilometres away. Southampton is a bedroom community, a retirement destination, as well as a tourist destination.
context_section_description: Long before settlers arrived to the area, Southampton was an important trading area, according to a historic plaque erected in town by the Government of Ontario, titled Fur Trading at Saugeen:
  The Anishnabe lived by the mouth of the Saugeen River before Pierre Piché arrived in 1818 to begin fur trading in the region. By 1826, the Hudson's Bay Company established an outpost at Saguingue to compete with independent fur traders like Piché. From La Cloche, its main post on Lake Huron, the Hudson's Bay Company employed First Nations, Métis, French, and British fur traders who largely depended on Anishnabe hunters to supply deer, bear and marten skins. By 1832, the supply of premium furs was exhausted and the company closed its post. Although many Anishnabe gave up hunting and settled in an agricultural village, fur trading continued here until the mid-19th century when Southampton was founded."
  The community was originally known as Saugeen by the early residents, by the Canadian Post Office and by Custom House Departments. However, the Crown Land Departments labelled the village as Southampton and the name stuck as the town was incorporated, named after Southampton, the English sea port. The first European settlers of the area, around 1848, were Captain John Spence and William Kennedy, who wanted to establish a fishing company.
  While it proved unfruitful, Spence became a sailor and Kennedy joined a search for the Arctic explorer, Sir John Franklin. Nevertheless, in 1851 there were at least a dozen families living in the community. In the same year, the Post Office was established, the first and only in Bruce County for several years.  Three years later, a Bank of Upper Canada was built.
  In 1846, Smith's Canadian Gazetteer describes Saugeen (Southampton) as little more than a pioneer settlement:
  A Settlement of Chippewa Indians, near the month of the Saugeen River, on Lake Huron. ... Sir F. Head, in 1836, obtained a surrender of that vast tract of land ... containing about 1,600,000 acres. ... There are some good log houses, and several comfortable bark shanties. On the hill, in rear of the flats, are several fine fields of corn and potatoes. ... The fishing is very productive, and has attracted the notice of the white people ...
  The pioneers of Southampton wanted the village to become the county town or county seat, as the village held the only Crown Land Department and Post Office in the county. However, the town of Kincardine had a larger population and seemed the strongest rival. Furthermore, Southampton did not have enough population to meet the requirements for incorporation.  The town petitioned the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the elective officials passed an exceptional Act of Incorporation on July 24, 1858 to allow the community to be considered for the county seat. Despite their efforts, Walkerton eventually won the battle.
  In the mid-1800s, John Denny built a dam, a grist mill, a sawmill, a woolen mill and an inn on the Saugeen River. (Only the latter building remains at 484 Carlisle Street; the current dam was built in the 1970s.)
  The Chantry Island Lightstation Tower was completed in April 1859, first lit on April 1, with Duncan McGregor Lambert as the first keeper. (The tower and the keeper's home have been extensively renovated and are open for tours, several days a week late May to mid-September, operated only by the Marine Heritage Society. Otherwise, access to the island is prohibited because it is a federal bird sanctuary.)
  Records from 1869 indicate that the population had increased to 600. Large amount of wheat, pork and lumber were being shipped from the village. A bank agency was operating. Good roads were available to other communities. A steam ship made runs to Goderich and Collingwood in summer; stagecoaches operated in winter.
  Southampton was incorporated as a town in 1904; at the time, its population was over 2400. The economic base included commercial fishing, warehousing, furniture factories, a tannery and mills.
  The town built a hospital in 1947, a post office in 1952, a library in 1956, 
caption: The Walker House, a historic hotel in the village since the 1860s.
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