A history of Goderich: From 1890s through the early 1900s

By: Kathleen Smith

The late 1880s and into the 1890s were transformative years, characterised by industrial growth, urbanisation and evolving domestic and social life.

It was the 1890s that laid the groundwork for social and economic changes that would come from the 20th century.

Originally a nation of farmers, fishermen, loggers and fur traders, with the 20th century, a full-scale societal transformation happens in the early 1900s.

Under the 15-year leadership of Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier (served 1896-1911), Canada pursued policies for great economic growth and a rising standard of living for almost everyone.

This next period from a young dominion of the British Empire to an increasingly independent nation was marked by rapid population growth, economic expansion, social reform, and eventually two world wars.

By the early 20th century, Goderich established itself as a modest commercial hub on Lake Huron.

Its location on the lake made it a key point for regional transport, with stagecoach routes connecting the town to London and Galt, and regular steamboat services linking it to other lakeside communities.

The early 1900s also saw gradual improvements in roads and public services, reflecting the town’s slow but steady growth.

Its population growth was slower than other Ontario towns due to its remote location and exposure to harsh lake winds. Despite that, it remained a stable community.

The early 1900s in Goderich were marked from its 19th-century foundations – reliance on the harbour, on small-scale industry, and community institutions.

These elements set the stage for later development in tourism, and heritage preservation.

By the late 1800s, salt works lined the lakefront, pumping brine from the ground and evaporating it in large metal pans to produce high-quality salt for export.

Large vessels – and steamships – lined the docks at Goderich Harbour to carry salt, timber and grain across the lake.

Children walked kilometres every day to reach one-room schoolhouses, where a single teacher handled every grade at once. Slate boards replaced paper and lunch tins were a daily staple.

Winters were harsh, families relied on horse-drawn sleighs to travel, and evenings were spent around wood-burning stoves.

Summer brought flocks to the shores to swim, canoe and socialising, gathering on the bluffs above the lake or afternoons on the beach.

Despite the quiet life on the shores of Lake Huron, news of a distant war made it to the ears of those in Goderich and Huron County.

In October 1899, an all-absorbing topic in local papers was the war between Great Britain and the Boers of South Africa.

According to Yates, as soon as war was declared in October 1899, war fever gripped the area.

Patriotic displays were everything. On the Square, store windows were bedecked by flags, banners and pictures of Queen Victoria.

Eight Huron-based men went overseas in the first Canadian contingent.

It was during this time that the Ah-Meek and Maple Leaf chapters of the IODE in Goderich were initially formed for the express purpose of supporting Canadian soldiers fighting in South Africa.

There were no lost Huron County men to mourn.

When the war ended on May 31, 1902, the town and church bells rang but there were no public celebrations, bonfires and parades.

The arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway connected Goderich and the shores of Lake Huron with other villages as well as opening markets to larger cities.

Goderich in the early 1900s was a modest, yet industrious lakeside town, balancing historical roots with gradual modernisation, while maintaining the role of a regional hub.

The Goderich branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was officially opened on September 12, 1907, almost three years to the day when a steam shovel scooped the first sod on the north bank of the Maitland River.

According to local historian and author David Yates, townsfolk eagerly anticipated the railway’s completion as it brought the promise of what local journalists hoped would be an ‘era of quickened developed and increased prosperity’.

Yates says the CPR was the second railroad into Goderich.

In 1858, the Grand Trunk Railroad had opened a Buffalo to Lake Huron line through Stratford, Seaforth and Clinton.

The CPR followed a more northerly route from Guelph to Walton, Blyth and Auburn before crossing the Maitland River at Goderich.

Constructing the CPR bridge over the Maitland proved more of a challenge than first anticipated.

At the peak of bridge construction, it was estimated that nearly a 1,000 mean and 50 teams of horses worked the line between Lake Huron and the base of Dunlop’s Hill.

On August 26, 1907, the first passenger train pulled into the Goderich CPR station. Reuben R. Sallows snapped a picture of the crowd awaiting its arrival.

In a portrait taken by Reuben R. Sallows, a group of men standing in dark suits, coats and wearing hats watch as a steam shovel turns the sod to make space for the iron rails scattered in the foreground and the Maitland River flats and town of Goderich in the background.

Bringing the CPR to Goderich was an important event, yet transportation patterns soon changed with the invention of the automobile.

Despite the loss of service, the stations have survived as a nostalgic relic of a bygone era of travel.

With the emergence of service groups to support men involved in the military fighting far off wars, and the changes that the CPR was bringing – connecting more towns – recreation was becoming more organised and official.

Shinny hockey had been played for decades on the harbour ice and lake, but it was not until December 1895 that the first Goderich ice hockey club was organised.

Alex McIvor, a member of the first Goderich team, recalled that the club was organised by Billy Bucko Babb.

Monday, February 3, 1896, stand as a monumental day in local sports as the first organised hockey match took place in Goderich at the West Street rink.

According to Yates, the Goderich team only had spring skates clamped to winter boots and had a lack of uniforms.

Undaunted, the Goderich team pushed on.

Early hockey games were played without goal nets, which caused endless disputes and fights on and off the ice.

Fighting was an integral part of the game then.

By 1898, the Goderich team was informally known as the ‘Goderich Seven’, and they became the town’s pride.

Local papers gave detailed coverage of each match.

It wasn’t until March 1899 the first appearance of a Goderich team called the Sailors was reported.

By 1900, the Huron Hockey League consisted of only three teams – Clinton, Goderich and Seaforth, and Canada’s game had taken root in Goderich and Huron County.

Although a far away war in a distant land didn’t impact the economic, recreational and social growth and peace in Goderich and Huron County, the people of Goderich were soon entering into a new era with the beginning of the 20th century.

Soon, unbeknownst to everyone, by the 1910s, something unimaginable was around the corner. The eventual Great War would impact lives in Goderich and Huron County and change industry, social and economic aspects of life in the area and shroud the town in a mournful state.

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.