Bronte in Oakville in Halton Region, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

The Bronte Harbour Company

Bronte Creek Trail

Photographed by Tim Boyd, May 20, 2024

1. The Bronte Harbour Company Marker

Inscription. Unlike neighbouring Oakville, where by the late 1820s William Chisholm had financed a harbour privately, development of port facilities in Bronte was delayed until the founding of the Bronte Harbour Company.

Led by Samuel Bealey Harrison, a politician, lawyer, and judge, residents of Bronte petitioned the government of Upper Canada to incorporate a company to build a harbour at the mouth of Twelve Mile Creek. After a ten-year struggle to obtain support, the Bronte Harbour Company was founded in 1846.

By 1856, construction of Bronte's newly dredged harbour with two piers and a lighthouse was complete. The village’s waterfront was transformed from a shallow marshland, inaccessible from the water, to a harbour with sufficient depth to sustain itself as a thriving Lake Ontario port. Vessels could now gain access to Bronte's gristmills and sawmills.

Erected by Town of Oakville.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Lighthouses series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1846.

Location. 43° 23.628′ N, 79° 42.535′ W. Marker is in Oakville, Ontario, in Halton Region. It is in Bronte. It is on Bronte Road 0.1 kilometers north of Ontario Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 32 Bronte Road, Oakville ON L6L L6L, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Toronto,

specifically on the Golden Horseshoe,

in the Hamilton-Halton-Brant Area,

and specifically in the Toronto Metropolitan Area.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself

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in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Bronte on Twelve Mile Creek (here, next to this marker); The Stonehookers of Lake Ontario (here, next to this marker); Yacht Launching in the 1970s (here, next to this marker); From Boom to Bust, 1856-1877 (here, next to this marker); Bronte: a Fishing Village (a few steps from this marker); Sovereign House (circa 1825) (approx. half a kilometer away); Bronte Pioneer Cemetery (approx. 0.9 kilometers away); World Championship Wheat 1954 (approx. 5.1 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Oakville.

Photographed by Tim Boyd, May 21, 2024

2. The Bronte Harbour Company Marker

The Bronte Harbour Company marker photo detail image. Click for full size.

courtesy Bronte Historical Society, 1910

3. The Bronte Harbour Company marker photo detail

Oakville Historical Society

4. The Bronte Harbour Company marker photo detail

Archives of Ontario

5. The Bronte Harbour Company marker photo detail

Credits. This page was last revised on June 5, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 22, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 314 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on May 22, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.