Bronte in Oakville in Halton Region, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
Bronte: a Fishing Village
Bronte Creek Trail
Photographed By Tim Boyd, May 20, 2024
1. Bronte: a Fishing Village Marker
Inscription.
Bronte: a Fishing Village. Bronte Creek Trail. For nearly a century, commercial fishing was a way of life for the village of Bronte. In 1850, the mouth of Twelve Mile Creek resembled an Atlantic Coast outport. Fishing shanties lined the creek, nets hung on reels drying in the sun, and fish boats waited at the wharf. Bronte was home to one of the largest fleets of fishing boats on Lake Ontario. By 1900 the fleet numbered twenty-two vessels. Built with overlapping planks (lapstrake), with a movable iron centre-board, many of these sturdy fish boats were built by Bronte’s Dalt MacDonald. The catch of whitefish, lake trout, cisco, and herring was smoked, salted, or packed in ice to be sold fresh. Following World War II, with the Lake Ontario fishery nearing exhaustion, Bronte fishermen finally left the lakes.
For nearly a century, commercial fishing was a way of life for the village of Bronte. In 1850, the mouth of Twelve Mile Creek resembled an Atlantic Coast outport. Fishing shanties lined the creek, nets hung on reels drying in the sun, and fish boats waited at the wharf.
Bronte was home to one of the largest fleets of fishing boats on Lake Ontario. By 1900 the fleet numbered twenty-two vessels. Built with overlapping planks (lapstrake), with a movable iron centre-board, many of these sturdy fish boats were built by Bronte’s Dalt MacDonald.
The catch of whitefish, lake trout, cisco, and herring was smoked, salted, or packed in ice to be sold fresh.
Following World War II, with the Lake Ontario fishery nearing exhaustion, Bronte fishermen finally left the lakes.
Location. 43° 23.621′ N, 79° 42.532′ W. Marker is in Oakville, Ontario, in Halton Region. It is in Bronte. Marker is on Bronte Road, 0.1 kilometers north of Ontario Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 32 Bronte Road, Oakville ON L6L L6L, Canada. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies. From Boom to Bust, 1856-1877 (here, next to this
Built on the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Bronte Harbour was completed 22 years after the fishing village of Bronte was founded in 1834 where the Twelve Mile Creek met the vast waters of Lake Ontario.
For thousands of years, the waterway was used by the original inhabitants as a means of transportation, source of agriculture, hunting and fishing for sustenance and commerce. After European settlement, Bronte became a busy Lake Ontario port, exporting wheat, building ships, and developing a thriving commercial fishery and stonehooking industry.
Photographed By Tim Boyd, May 21, 2024
2. Bronte: a Fishing Village Marker
(Submitted on May 21, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)
Photographed By Tim Boyd, May 20, 2024
3. Bronte: a Fishing Village marker photo detail
Photographed By Tim Boyd, May 20, 2024
4. Bronte: a Fishing Village marker photo detail
Credits. This page was last revised on May 22, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 21, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 103 times since then. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 21, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
