Brights Grove in Sarnia in Lambton County, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Canada’s First Commune

Photographed by Tim Boyd, May 12, 2025

1. Canada’s First Commune Marker

Inscription. In 1829 Henry Jones of Devon, England, a retired purser in the Royal Navy, brought a group of more than 50 emigrants from the United Kingdom to this area where he established a settlement on a 1,000 acre tract of land on Lake Huron. An early supporter and dedicated follower of Robert Owen, the well-known British social reformer, Jones named the settlement "Maxwell” and organized the community on the basis of common ownership and collective living. The settlers built a large log house with community kitchen and dining-room but separate rooms for each family. A school and storehouse were added. Within a few years, however, disappointing harvests and the burning of the log house led the colonists gradually to abandon the enterprise.

Erected by Ontario Heritage Foundation.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Ontario Heritage Trust, and the Communal and Utopian Societies series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1829.

Location. 43° 1.902′ N, 82° 15.784′ W. Marker is in Sarnia, Ontario, in Lambton County.

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It is in Brights Grove. It can be reached from the intersection of Hamilton Road and Wildwood Drive, on the left when traveling east. The marker is in Wildwood Park (also part of Bright’s Grove Public School playground) approx. 150 metres from the parking lot entered off of Hamilton Road. It can also be seen from the Old Lakeshore Road bike bath, on the opposite side of the fence. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2561 Lakeshore Road, Sarnia ON N0N 1C0, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Southwest Ontario Area

and in Southwestern Ontario.

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 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 14 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Founding of Point Edward (approx. 12.8 kilometers away); Pauline McGibbon 1910-2001 (approx. 13 kilometers away); Mackenzie House and Family

Photographed by Tim Boyd, May 12, 2025

2. Canada’s First Commune Marker

(approx. 13 kilometers away); Seeing the Light (approx. 13.3 kilometers away in the U.S.); The Storm (approx. 13.3 kilometers away in the U.S.); Learning from Lake Huron (approx. 13.3 kilometers away in the U.S.); Sending a Signal (approx. 13.3 kilometers away in the U.S.); Keepers Duties (approx. 13.3 kilometers away in the U.S.). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sarnia.

Also see . . .
1. Robert Owen, Father of British Socialism (Historic UK).

Robert Owen was born on 14th May 1771 in Newtown in Wales, although his career and aspirations would take him as far away as America. He was the sixth of seven children born to Robert Owen (Senior) who was an ironmonger, saddler and postmaster. At only ten years old he was sent to work in the textile industry, and by 19 he had started his own business. He borrowed £100 and began his life as an entrepreneur and social reformer. He became known as the ‘Father of British Socialism’ and Owen was, in many ways, centuries ahead of his time with his ideas of a workers’ utopia, socialist reform and universal charity.

(Submitted on May 19, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

2. Lambton Settlement was Canada’s Earliest Socialist Experiment (Wallaceburg Courier-Express).

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After serving during the Napoleonic Wars as a purser in the Royal Navy, Jones retired back in England where he became an ardent follower of Robert Owen, a socialist factory owner who called for the creation of communal villages of "unity and cooperation" to help mill workers displayed by machinery. Jones travelled to British North America in 1827 to search out a location for a farming commune he wanted to create following Owen's ideas, and found a spot on the shores of Lake Huron, not far from what would become Port Sarnia.

(Submitted on May 19, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 20, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 19, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 124 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 19, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.