A history of Goderich: From 1870s through the 1880s

By: Kate Smith

After a decade of growth, discoveries, and watching the colony become a nation, by 1869 the population had risen to 4,500 and Goderich was soon finding out what would define the town for generations.

Many changes came to Goderich in the 1870s and 1880s that were major factors in the growth of the economy and infrastructure.

The 1870s were a transformative period for settlements in Ontario, marked by significant developments in industry, politics and society.

A key factor during this period was the means of transportation of commercial goods – shipping from the harbour and the railway.

In 1872 the Government of Canada made major changes to the harbour by directing the river north to create the modern harbour that is used today.

The north and south piers were constructed as well as a breakwater to separate the harbour from the mouth of the Maitland River.

An artificial channel was also dredged to create a path for the river.

By the 1870s, Goderich Harbour was home to a flour mill owned by the company Ogilvie Milling Company of Quebec.

It was run by Matthew Hutchinson and was nicknamed the Big Mill.

The 1870s were also a time of political change, with the provincial government of Oliver Mowat vigorously defending provincial rights and expanding provincial power.

The era was marked by the first census following Confederation.

By 1878, the country was under the leadership of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald who defeated Alexander Mackenzie.

In 1879, Canadian scientist Sir Sandford Fleming introduced the idea of an international system of time, dividing the world into 24 equal time zones, establishing a standard time for each zone.

In 1879, Parliament passed a bill to make the first day of July a public holiday by the name of Dominion Day, later changed to Canada Day.

Between 1871 and 1877 seven treaties were signed between the Canadian government and various First Nations groups.

The Indian Act of 1876 governed the administration of treaties and all matters to do with the Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Indigenous people on reserves were not considered full citizens and did not have the right to vote.

Indigenous children were taken from their parents and sent to boarding schools to learn English or French and the Bible. This was the beginning of the shameful residential school system.

Canada established its own Supreme Court in 1875. Before that, Canadians seeking a high court decision on something had to go to London, England to be heard.

One important function of a Canadian Supreme Court was to interpret the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments.

Overall, the 1870s were a pivotal decade for Ontario’s cities and towns, shaping its future as a place with a strong industrial base and a growing national identity.

By the 1880s, the harbour grew to service grain, salt, lumber and other commodities.

On a local level, there were a few events that began to shape and define what the Town of Goderich would become, including a safe harbour for those lost in the lake, a town that holds agriculture in high regard, producing salt of the best quality, becoming a place that fosters art and culture, a tourist attraction for those travelling by train, and seeing new inventions and embracing the future.

Canada’s third Governor-General, the Earl of Dufferin, and his wife arrived in Goderich on August 21, 1874.

For weeks before, Goderich was in full preparation to welcome Queen Victoria’s Vice-Regal representative in Canada.

Mayor Horace Horton called on Council to consider spending $500 to help pay for the occasion.

Plans involved swearing in 10 special constables to maintain crowd control, shops advised keeping shutters drawn to give a more business-like appearance, and those who lived near the Square were asked to light up their buildings as fully as possible.

On August 21, despite the fog and rain, crowds gathered at the harbour and Mayor Horton welcomed Lord and Lady Dufferin to the city of salt and pledged the town’s continued loyalty and devotion to Queen Victoria.

They were taken in carriages up West Street and around the Square, to The Maples (where AMGH stands today) and eventually to the salt works, where Lady Dufferin wrote in her journal that Goderich salt was of the best quality.

Despite the beauty of the lake, it has sometimes been tragic or volatile to those who wish to cross it.

The rescue of the schooner A.C. Maxwell’s crew is the most dramatic life saving saga in the Port of Goderich’s long history, according to local historian and author David Yates.

The Maxwell was a wooden, two-masted schooner launched in 1870, and in December 1885, she was carrying a load of pig iron from Escabana bound for Cleveland.

As she entered Lake Huron, a violent winter storm blew in from Lake Superior, and buffeted by gale force winds, heavy seas and blinding snow, the Maxwell broke loose from her tow and was soon adrift in blizzard conditions.

Rudderless and with sails blown to shreds, with her only lifeboat lost, it appeared its crew were doomed, despite hoisted the distress signal.

In the early morning hours of December 9, 1885, the Maxwell’s clanging bell was heard above the storm, and a rescue crew stepped forward in the stormy darkness.

Part of the rescue crew was 15-year-old Daniel McIvor.

The Maxwell’s crew were suffering from frozen hands and feet but were taken off the stranded vessel and brought to Goderich to be taken care of before heading back home.

Life Saving Medals were awarded to the rescue crew.

Despite its importance to the town, it wasn’t all about the lake during the 1880s.

Agricultural Park was created in May 1887, and the new park was created to house the Northwestern Agricultural Fair.

Construction progressed rapidly as the grandstand was ready for the Scotia Games held on Dominion Day, as large numbers of Scottish athletes, dancers and pipers competed in an all-day event.

The first Northwestern Fair at Agricultural Park opened on October 4, 1887. Comprising 60,000 square feet of exhibition space, it was a marvel of modern technology as electric lighting was temporarily installed for the fair.

The domed building’s gallery housed fine arts and ladies’ work exhibits.

The town paid a compliment to the great agricultural interest, the root of all progress in the area, at the fair in 1887.

The town was soon growing and finding its identity through art and culture but needed a place to gather.

Goderich once possessed its own opera house. Before the Victoria Opera House, there was Victoria Hall, built by Christopher Crabb, a future Goderich Mayor, in 1869, on the corner of East Street and the Square.

Victoria Hall hosted a range of social functions like regimental balls, lecturers and town council meetings.

By the early 1880s, Goderich required a grander, statelier performance building to showcase its status as a prosperous county town.

Crabb then purchased the property facing Kingston Street, just off the square and began construction of the new Victoria Opera House.

When it opened in May 1885, the three-storey Italianate opera house was the town’s pride.

The opera house was described as a building that will seat 750 people and proclaimed as one fo the neatest opera houses in the west.

Rivalling the Victoria Opera House for a brief time was the Grand Opera House located on West Street. Built in 1886, the Grand Opera House was destroyed by fire in 1895.

Yet, the Victoria Opera House was still considered Goderich’s premiere stage.

According to Yates, in December 1886, Bosco the Magician, thrilled audiences with clever illusions.

From the use of the lake, the quality of salt impacting the local economy and industry, to honouring agricultural contributions to the community and bringing art and culture to the community, Goderich was a place that embraced the future and innovation during the 1870s and 1880s.

During the summer of 1883, the bicycle or wheel was a great novelty in Huron County, symbolising speed, mobility, status and freedom for the rider.

Bicycles had been around the area as early as the 1860s when Jonathan Miller built the area’s first makeshift pedal contraption in Benmiller.

In May 1883, it was announced that the Chicago Bicycle Club would tour Huron County in July, and it was then that local bikers organised themselves into Wheelman’s Clubs.

Many bicyclists were enraptured with Goderich’s design and enjoyed race around the Square.

The Goderich Bicycle Club experienced some of the freedom and pitfalls of 19th century cycling when they went on their first ride to Porter’s Hill.

According to Yates, the riders encountered steep hills and gravel roads that made the ride unpleasant.

For the first time, bicycle races took precedence over foot and horse racing at the Dominion Day games on the Square.

Overall, the 1880s were a transformative decade for Canada’s settlements and towns, including Goderich and Huron County.

This growth was characterised by expansion, infrastructure, cultural development and social dynamics of a growing population.

This is an ongoing series of historical features to tell the story of Goderich, in each issue of the Goderich Sun, from June 2026 until June 2027, in anticipation of its bicentennial.