Goderich, Ontario

Goderich
—  Town  —
Motto: Canada's Prettiest Town
Goderich
Coordinates: 43°44′N 81°42′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Huron
Founded	1827
Incorporated	1850
Government
• Mayor	Deb Shewfelt
• Deputy Mayor	John Grace
• Federal riding	Huron—Bruce
• Prov. riding	Huron—Bruce
Area
• Total	7.91 km2 (3.05 sq mi)
Elevation	213 m (699 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	7,563
• Density	956.1/km2 (2,476/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Postal Code	N7A
Area code(s)	519 and 226
Website	www.goderich.ca

Goderich (pronounced either God-rich or God-er-ich) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario and is the county seat of Huron County. The town was founded by William "Tiger" Dunlop in 1827. First laid out in 1828, the town is named after Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, who was British prime minister at the time. The town was officially incorporated in 1850.

As of 2010, the population is 8000. The area of the town is 7.91 square kilometres.

Located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, Goderich is notable for its sunsets. Queen Elizabeth once commented that Goderich was "The prettiest town in Canada" although no reigning monarch has ever visited Goderich. The town indicates that tourism is among its important industries.

The town participates yearly in the Communities in Bloom competition; and has won awards in many categories.

The Square

Huron County Courthouse

Goderich's downtown has an octagonal traffic circle known as 'The Square'. The county courthouse stands in the middle of The Square. This is where, in 1959, Steven Truscott was convicted of murdering Lynne Harper.

Contrary to a popularly held belief, plans for The Square were not intended for Guelph. It is thought this rumour started when Goderich was founded, as town planners the Canada Company originally wanted their community to be called Guelph after the Royal Family, eventually resigning to Company Superintendent John Galt's wish to keep the name Goderich.

2011 tornado

Felled trees and demolished buildings along a road in Goderich after the tornado.

Main article: 2011 Goderich, Ontario tornado

On the afternoon of August 21, 2011, an F3 tornado touched down in the town, after coming ashore as a waterspout as the mesocyclone thunderstorm cell moved across Lake Huron. It was the strongest tornado that had hit Ontario since the Arthur, Ontario tornado of April 20, 1996, though on average, F3 tornadoes occur in Ontario every eight years. The devastating storm downed power lines, tore roofs off houses, and left cars and trees scattered along city streets. Hundred-year-old trees surrounding the Goderich Courthouse were uprooted in seconds. The tornado killed one person: Norman Laberge, 61, of Lucknow, who was working in a salt mine on the coast of Lake Huron when the storm hit. 37 people were injured. The Environment Canada weather forecast office in Toronto issued a tornado warning for Goderich and southern Huron County 12 minutes before the tornado struck. The town does not have a tornado siren unlike some other Ontario cities.

Industry

Goderich Salt Mines

Sifto Canada operates a salt mine underneath Goderich's harbour. The mine extends 5 kilometers under Lake Huron and is the largest underground salt mine in the world.

Heavy Equipment

Volvo once operated a road grader manufacturing plant in Goderich. The plant was first started by Champion Road Equipment in the 1950s and acquired by AB Volvo in the 1990s. In September 2008, Volvo announced plans to close all operations in Goderich and move operations to Shippensburg, PA. The final stages of this plan took place by July 2010 resulting in many lay-offs. This hit the local economy quite hard.

Ports

Silos at Goderich Harbour

Goderich Airport (known unofficially as Sky Harbour Airport) is a community airport with three runways: two are paved, with runway lighting, and one is grass. It is located directly north of the town, and is accessible via the Bluewater Highway north of the community. During WWII, The airport was the site of an Elementary Flying Training School as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. In addition to flight services, several industries are located in the immediate area of the airport to provide the full range of services that aviation requires, including interior and exterior re-finishing, and mechanical repairs.

Goderich Harbour is owned by the town, but is operated under contract by Goderich Port Management Corporation. It is an industrial harbour, used primarily to load salt from the Sifto salt mines onto lake and ocean freighters.

Snug Harbour is a marina located within the industrial harbour basin; Maitland Valley Marina is also located near Goderich.

Railroads

Historic CPR station

The Goderich-Exeter Railway presently operates freight service to Goderich. The line was built by the Buffalo and Lake Huron Railway in 1859. The railroad was soon taken over by the Grand Trunk Railway, later CN. In 1992, the line was sold to the GEXR.

CPR built a second railroad into Goderich in 1907. Passenger service ran until the 1960s. The entire line was abandoned in 1989. The trestle crossing over the Maitland River was converted through public fund-raising into a public walkway, with beautiful views of the harbour, Maitland Valley golf course and of course, the river valley itself. The Ontario West Shore Railway started to build a railroad from Goderich to Kincardine in 1909, but the road was never completely open.

Attractions

Huron County Museum

The Huron Historic Gaol is a National Historic Site. It served as the region's gaol (old English form of jail) from its opening in 1842 until 1972. It is open to the public between April and October. This is the site of the last public hanging in Canada. James Donnelly Sr. of the Black Donnellys also spent time here before his trial. As well, Steven Truscott was held here for some time.

The Huron County Museum is a community museum which offers modern exhibition galleries. Permanent exhibits depict the early settlement and development of Huron County. The museum also collects and maintains the Huron County Archives.

The Marine Museum, which is open in July and August, is dedicated to the lifestyle and culture of those who made a living on Lake Huron, highlighting The Great Storm of 1913. Admission to this museum is included in the entry fee for the Huron County Museum.

Goderich features 3 public use beaches which can be reached by car following signage in town to the beach hill, also known as West Street. After parking, beach users can also walk along a wooden boardwalk over a mile in length. The main beach, at the north end of the walkway is a sand and fine gravel beach where swimmers and sunbathers can watch lake freighters loading up with salt on the other side of the pier. Further south is St. Christopher's beach and at the far end of the boardwalk is "Rotary Cove", a family-friendly sand beach with lifeguards and playground equipment. Of interest as well, are the man-made groynes along the beach, put in place to control sand migration from the action of water currents.

Sports teams

Besides school teams, during the winter season, hockey is prevalent in most Canadian small towns, Goderich being no exception. The town supports both the Sr. A Pirates and the Jr. C Sailors, much of the talent on both teams being of local origin.

Schools

Goderich is home to two elementary schools and one high school. Goderich Public, and St. Mary's Catholic separate school are the in town elementary schools, with more elementary schools serving the rural areas outside of town. Goderich District Collegiate Institute (G.D.C.I.), the local high school, was founded in 1841.^{[citation needed]} The Huron County Museum now uses the original schoolhouse as part of the museum.

Demographics

Census	Population
1841	659
1871	3,954
1881	4,564
1891	3,839
1901	4,158
1911	4,522
1921	4,107
1931	4,491
1941	4,557
1951	4,934
1961	6,411
1971	6,813
1981	7,322
1991	7,452
2001	7,604
2006	7,563

Demographics

	0-9	10-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60-69	70-79	80+	Total	% of population
Male	400	445	365	385	500	595	360	305	195	3,555	47
Female	335	485	405	375	585	630	435	400	360	4,010	53
Total	735	930	770	765	1,085	1,220	795	710	550	7,565	100
Source: Stats Canada

Media

• CIYN-FM-1 99.7 "myFM" - classic hits
• CHWC-FM 104.9 "The Beach" - local news and adult contemporary

Flag

Goderich has its own official flag which was adopted in 1977 for the town's 125th birthday celebration. A contest was held, open to all Goderich schools and residents which was won by Judge Carter of Wilson Street, Goderich. The flag shows the royal crown centered in an octagon (representing the 1/4 mile octagon 3 lane town square) with 3 waves at the bottom on a blue background representing Lake Huron and the Port of Goderich. The Town also has a full town crest.

Notable people

Jennifer Robinson skating during an exhibition at the 2004 Canadian Stars On Ice show in Hamilton, Ontario.

• David Bauer (1924–1988) Influential Canadian amateur hockey organizer and coach
• Albert Dewsbury (1926–2006) former NHL defenceman
• Gary Doak (born 1946) former NHL defenceman
• William "Tiger" Dunlop (1792–1846) Founding father of Goderich associated with Canada Company
• Kati Durst Canadian Idol top 10.
• Larry Jeffrey (born 1940) former NHL forward, won the Stanley Cup in 1967 with the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Mistie Murray (born 1978) Subject of infamous unsolved missing persons case.
• Ted Nasmith fantasy illustrator, best known for his illustrations of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien
• Garth Picot guitarist, former member of The Revols
• Jack Price (born 1932) former NHL defenceman
• Jennifer Robinson (born 1976) former six time Canadian national figure skating champion
• Tim Sale (born 1942), retired cabinet Minister in the province of Manitoba Canada
• Dick Treleaven (born 1934) Ontario politician
• Ron Van Horne (born 1932) Ontario politician
• Joseph Griffin (1849–1925) First Catholic reeve (sheriff) of Huron County

The local newspaper paper is the Goderich Signal Star, owned by Quebecor/Sun Media Corporation through Bowes Publishers.

Sister city

• Bay City, Michigan

See also

• Kingsbridge Wind Farm
• Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm

External links

• Official website
• Tourist site mentioning Goderich