| Kincardine | |||
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| — Town — | |||
| Kincardine Lighthouse and Search and Rescue Boat | |||
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| Motto: "Where you are a stranger only once." | |||
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Kincardine
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Canada | ||
| Province | Ontario | ||
| County | Bruce | ||
| Settled | 1848 | ||
| Formed | January 1, 1999 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Larry Kraemer | ||
| • Federal riding | Huron—Bruce | ||
| • Prov. riding | Huron—Bruce | ||
| Area[1] | |||
| • Land | 537.65 km2 (207.6 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2006)[1] | |||
| • Total | 11,173 | ||
| • Density | 20.8/km2 (53.9/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| Postal Code | N2Z | ||
| Area code(s) | 519 and 226 | ||
| Website | www.kincardine.net | ||
The Town of Kincardine is located on the shores of Lake Huron in the in the Municipality of Kincardine, County of Bruce in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has a population of 7,000. The town is located at the mouth of the Penetangore River, and was founded in 1848 by the name of Penetangore.
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On March 5, 1848, Captain Alexander M. MacGregor sailed his little schooner "THE FLY" into the mouth of the Penetangore River. In Ojibwa, Penetangore means "river with sand on one side".This is referring to the sand bar at the mouth of the river. Settlers , Allan Cameron and William Withers landed will on this ship at the site of the modern-day town, in that part of Canada West known only as the Queen's Bush, and founded a community called Penetangore. Near where they landed the built a log cabin in which Cameron ran a hotel. Withers built a dam and a saw mill which was opened the following year (1849).By the winter of 1848/49 seven families inhabited the settlement.
On January 1, 1850 the Queen's Bush was divided into counties, and the counties were divided into townships. Penetangore now found itself located within the Township of Kincardine in the County of Bruce. Both the township and the county were named after James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine.
Francis 'Paddy' Walker, who arrived in Kincardine (Then Penetangore) driving from Goderich on the ice along the Lake Shore, in a horse drawn cutter in the spring of 1850. He brought with him his wife, Jane and their seven sons. The Walker House Hotel was built that same year, overlooking the Penetangore River.
The sand flats later became the harbour and the center of intense commercial and industry activity.
An outstanding example of the pioneer entrepreneurs who helped create strong communities, Mr. Walker also operated a schooner Mud Turtle, and was a contractor on the Durham Road as it was cut eastward through the bush from Kincardine
In the summer of 1851, the Durham Road finally reached its terminus at Penetangore, and allowed access to the settlement by land. The road would be considered nearly impassable by today's standards, but at the time represented a significant improvement in communication and trade. A post office was established at Penetangore in the same year.
In the early years of Bruce County, Kincardine was the only township with any appreciable settlement, and served as the seat of local government for the entire county. Tensions eventually rose to the point where this arrangement could no longer be maintained, and on January 1, 1854 several new municipalities were formed, leaving only Kinloss Township and Bruce Township in union with Kincardine. Kinloss subsequently separated in 1855, and Bruce in 1856.
Over this time, the name Penetangore had gradually fallen out of favour, and was officially discontinued (except with regard to the river) when the Village of Kincardine was incorporated on January 1, 1858.
Kincardine’s first school was opened in the summer of 1851. The building was situated on the flats near the mouth of the river. This was the school until 1855 when a permanent building was secured. During the years 1856 to 1866, a long, convoluted political battle was fought over the location of the county seat. Kincardine and Walkerton were the main contenders, and the latter finally emerged victorious. Kincardine would continue to dominate the county economically, but had clearly lost much of its early political primacy
To help govern the growing town a Town Hall was erected in December of 1872 at the cost of $8000. On the first floor of the building it had municipal rooms, a caretaker’s apartment and a fire hall, while the basement was a detention room and had several storage areas. The 2nd floor was an auditorium for town speeches and community plays.
In 1874 James Watson and Andrew Malcolm Opened Watson and Malcolm a furniture company. After the death of it’s founders the company was renamed as Andrew Malcolm Furniture Company.
With a new town council a law passed in 1874 stated that Kincardine was to be enforced by on constable. The first constable was Mr. William Purves. His office was in his home which was identified by a large sign over his front door which read “POLICE”
On December 29 1874 the last nail was hit on the new 67 miles of rail of the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway Company. The railway brought many new settlers into Kincardine which kick started a huge industrial expansion for the small village.
The Village of Tiverton, located on the boundary between Kincardine Township and Bruce Township, was incorporated in 1879. To protect ships using the busy harbour, the Kincardine lighthouse was built in 1881.[2] At some point during the late 1800s or early 1900s, the Village of Kincardine became the Town of Kincardine.
In 1902 F.E. Coombe and James Watson formed a partnership and began the operating the Coombe and Watson Furniture Company. In 1929 the company was renamed Coombe Furniture Co. Ltd. Coombe Furniture is recognized worldwide. When the Queen visited Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island her suite was furnished with Coombe furniture, The company closed in 1973 when people started buying cheaper that didn’t last a lifetime instead of the pricey, life-lasting Coombe furniture. From 1907 – 1908 the Kincardine Public Library was built on Queen street.
Kincardine and District General Hospital was first proposed in November, 1908 by Madame Josephine Gualco, a wealthy, widely-travelled European lady who, between her many trips to Europe, made her home in Kincardine. She had purchased the Grant property on Queen Street North and proposed to donate it along with $2,500 annually for the creation of a hospital to serve Kincardine and surrounding district. The Hospital was incorporated by on December 17, 1908 under the Ontario Companies Act
For a small growing town communication is a huge asset. However the telephone had not reached Kincardine. Since Bell was not interested in supplying rural service the people in the surrounding townships began to organize their own company. On July 11 1912 the Bruce Municipal Telephone Company was born. The company is now called “Bruce Telecom”.
A small nuclear power plant was constructed at Douglas Point in Bruce Township in 1958, and the eight additional reactors of the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station were built between 1977 and 1987. As a result, a wave of highly educated people moved to Kincardine for work, and were commensurately paid. This significantly changed the demographics of the town, and its entire economy.
As a result of the purchase/lease of the site by British Energy and the subsequent assumption of the lease by a wholly Canadian consortium following the Enron scandal, Bruce Power has resumed operation of Bruce A, a 4 unit station. Units 3 and 4 are in commercial operation and units 1 and 2 are undergoing a massive refurbishment requiring a retube of the fuel channels in the reactor and a replacement of the steam generators. Bruce Power has also applied to the Ontario Government following the Energy Minister's release of the forecast of needed new generation with a request to be allowed to build new Nuclear facilities.
The Bruce site also contains Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) Western Waste Management Facility for the storage of low and intermediate-level radioactive waste from the Bruce, Pickering and Darlington nuclear power stations, and the used nuclear fuel from the Bruce station. OPG has proposed the construction and operation of a deep geologic repository for the long-term management of the low and intermediate level waste on lands adjacent to the Western Waste Management Facility. Pending approvals and licensing by regulatory agencies, the DGR will commence construction in 2013 and operation in 2018.[2]
In 1998, the Village of Tiverton lost its separate incorporation, and became part of the Township of Bruce.
The Town of Kincardine, the Township of Kincardine, and the Township of Bruce were then amalgamated to form the Township of Kincardine-Bruce-Tiverton on January 1, 1999, with boundaries identical to those of the municipality that had existed in 1855. After the first election of the new municipal council, a plebiscite was conducted, and the name changed to the Municipality of Kincardine. In an interesting twist, one of the defeated options on the plebiscite was the name Penetangore.
The Bluewater District School Board is the school board for the Kincardine area. Kincardine District Secondary School is the local high school for most students in the area. Approximately 800 students are attending in the 2007/2008 year. There are 5 local elementary schools, Elgin Market Public School, Huron Heights Public School, St. Anthony's Catholic School, Kincardine Township-Tiverton Public School (located in Kincardine Township), and Ripley Huron Community School (located in Ripley).[3]
Kincardine is centrally located along highway 21 and at the west end of highway 9. There are two taxi companies in Kincardine. Kincardine Taxi and Fred's Cabs. Airplanes can land at the Municipal Airport, Kincardine/Shepherd's Landing or the Ellis Field located in Kincardine Township. The town of Kincardine also has a excellent harbour for tourist who want to travel by their boats.
The economy of Kincardine is dominated by the Bruce Nuclear Power Development which is currently operated by Bruce Power, a private company under lease from Ontario Power Generation. There is also a thriving tourist industry, emphasizing sandy beaches, beautiful sunsets and Scottish cultural tradition.
The Kincardine and District General Hospital of the South Bruce Grey Health Centre is the hospital for the community.
Kincardine is home to many parks and trails that run throughout the town of Kincardine. Sports are a huge part of the community mostly focusing around hockey in the winter and soccer in the summer. The local community centre, The Davidson Centre is the central location for most recreation activities as it has a park, skate park, soccer fields, track (indoor & outdoor), swimming pool, gym, basketball court and hockey rink.
The Kincardine Bulldogs is the local hockey team. They compete in the Western Junior C hockey league. In the 2006-2007 and the 2007-2008 seasons the Bulldogs finished 1st in the WJCHL.
All the other hockey teams in town go under the name of "The Kincardine Kinucks".
Kincardine also has a rugby team, created several years ago. They are known as the Barbarians or "Barbs" and serve as the rugby team for Kincardine and surrounding areas.
The Kinetic Knights FIRST Robotics Team (Kincardine & District Secondary School) competes in the FIRST Robotics Competition. The team placed 2nd in the world in their 2011 season.
Kincardine (especially the Town of Kincardine) has a strong Scottish culture. The Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band Parades happens every Saturday night during the summer months ending Labour Day weekend. Also every night in the summer (except for Saturdays) the Phantom Piper (a bag piper) plays his bagpipes on top of the light house at sunset. This story behind the Phantom Piper is a Kincardine Legend. Read more about the Phantom Piper HERE. To continue the Scottish culture in Kincardine, every year Kincardine holds the Kincardine Scottish Festival & Highland Games.
Showcasing Kincardine's artistic side, Kincardine is also home to Bluewater Summer Playhouse (Drama Festival) and The Kincardine Summer Music Festival. Kincardine also takes part in Doors Open Kincardine showcasing Kincardine's heritage homes and buildings. Every Monday Starting on the May long weekend until the labour day weekend Kincardine has a "Market in the Square" a sort of flea market in the local park located beside the downtown.
Known as the most historic street in Kincardine, Harbour Street gets its name from the harbour located to one side. The town's old lighthouse and museum are located on it, as well as The Erie Belle Restaurant and the Harbour Street Brasserie. Perhaps the most famous landmark on Harbour Street is the Walker House, the oldest building in Kincardine, which is now a museum. Kincardine is known for its beautiful and clean beaches, including Tiny Tot beach, Station Beach (Reunion Park), and Boiler Beach. Very popular among youth and adults alike are the two piers attached to the marina. Arguably one of the best spots to watch the internationally famous sunsets, the South Pier is also a very popular "cliff-jump" style swimming location for all.
Kincardine has two newspaper companies. The Kincardine News and the Kincardine Independent. The Kincardine Times is a third source of local news which is an online newspaper. Kincardine also has its own radio station. myFM 95.5 Kincardine.
| Saugeen Shores | ||||
| Lake Huron | Brockton | |||
| Kincardine | ||||
| Huron-Kinloss |
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