Postcards From the Bay - History of Wiarton and Colpoy's Bay, Ontario

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Recent Updates


Date	Changes Made
November 17, 2024	Added 2023 image of the sandy beach in Wiarton (see "Bluewater Beach" page.
September 23, 2024	Added 2023 image looking south toward Wiarton from "rock cut" through north hill for Highway 6. Added 2023 image of Berford St. in Wiarton looking south from the former Union Bank building. Added brief text about Wiarton's "big dig" completed in 2021.
August 7, 2024	Added 2023 images of the former sites of the Forest Home Hotel and Colpoy's Bay United Church to relevant Colpoy's Bay pages.
June 11, 2024	Added 2023 images of Albemarle Street, Hughenden, Whicher's Store, the Women's Institute community hall and the former Colpoy's schoolhouse to relevant Colpoy's Bay pages.
September 9, 2023	Added new images of Frame's Falls and grist millstones to the Colpoy's Bay page "Frame's Falls and John Wood's Grist Mill." Also corrected numbering of Figures on the page and made minor edits to the text. Revised bibliography page, in part to add "Flowers of Heaven: A Family's Story of Love and Loss on Colpoy's Bay" by Debbie Morrison. Made sure links in bibliography are still active.
August 27, 2023	Added 2023 image of view toward Kalbfleisch Dock from former site of Whicher's Mill and adjusted text on the Colpoy's Bay "Kalbfleisch Dock" page. Removed links to postcard webring since the webring is now defunct.
August 20, 2023	Added 2023 image of Whicher's Mill flywheel and made other changes to reorganize and adjust the text for the Colpoy's Bay "Whicher's Sawmill" page.
June 20, 2023	Fixed zoomabile aerial images on "Colpoy's Bay from the Air" to use HTML 5 code rather than obsolete Flash script. Various other minor updates to content.
September 5, 2022	Added updated (2022) images to Wiarton - Berford St. (parts 1, 2 and 3) pages Added updated (2022) image of former Wiarton Echo building to "Wiarton's Newspapers" page Added updated (2022) image of former St. Alban's Hotel to "Wiarton's Hotels" page Added updated (2022) images of former Colpoy's Bay water flume and remains of Whicher Store electrical generator to Colpoy's Bay - "Frame's Falls and John Wood's Grist Mill" page (see link embedded in that page).
December 30, 2021	Updated page on Caframo/Wiarton Cement Factory to cover the demolition of the old Caframo warehouse/former cement factory powerhouse
March 7, 2021	Added photo of Canada Casket Company promotional material to page on Wiarton's Furniture Industry
December 29, 2020	Restored the Wiarton Timeline page using Timeline JS. The previous embedded application (Dipity) went bankrupt in 2016
October 6, 2020	Added new page on the Wiarton Gates (Gateway to the Bruce Peninsula).
June 1, 2020	Updated the Kalbfleisch House page in the Colpoys Bay section to reflect the family's sale of the home.
December 27, 2017	Updated bibliography to reflect references from page on Wiarton's sawmill industry.
August 20, 2017	Added new page on the rise and fall of Wiarton's sawmill industry.
January 30, 2017	Added additional context to video on GTR train station page.
January 5, 2017	Added first embedded video to the site. It shows a train travelling south from Wiarton to Hepworth (courtesy of Doug Gammie and his late father R.B. Gammie MD. You'll find it on the page about Wiarton's Grand Trunk Railway station.
January 4, 2017	Refreshed "Connecting Passages" links page, and added some new links.
January 2, 2017	Finished reviewing and updating any oudated text and links, as necessary, for Wiarton pages. Added picture of town hall on fire in 1967, and new town hall in 1968. Added picture of 2014 Wiarton Echo masthead. Added 2015 picture of former Reckin Grist Mill in Wiarton.
December 31, 2016	Reviewed and updated any oudated text and links, as necessary, for most Wiarton pages. Added picture of Heritage Heights Condomimiums in former Wiarton District High School building.
December 26, 2016	Reviewed and updated any oudated text and links, as necessary, for all Colpoy's Bay pages. Added information on Colpoy's Bay Women's Insitute hall being up for sale for a short time in 2016. Added 1886 picture of Whicher's Store. Replaced link to "Parke House Bed & Breakfast" with a link to its current title, the "Quayside Landing Bed & Breakfast" - See Forest Home Hotel page in the Colpoy's Bay section of this website.
July 25, 2015	Update page on Wiarton Beet Sugar Factory with additional text and pictures to reflect the renovation of the Wiarton Windows building into a storage facility. This building still sits on the foundation of the old sugar factory.
July 28, 2013	Added a new page containing a timeline of Wiarton's history (see menu item on left-hand side of screen).
March 11, 2013	Made minor revisions to the text on the Spragge's Hill page (Colpoy's Bay).
March 9, 2013	Updated maps for Colpoy's Bay, and made minor revisions to introductory Colpoy's Bay text.
January 29, 2013	Added text and pictures on the Edgehill Cemetery landslide memorial (Colpoy's Bay).
December 31, 2012	Added 1893 photo of Siemon & Hill furniture factory.
January 9, 2012	Added photos and additional text on Wiarton's former private hospitals and nursing homes.
December 14, 2010	Added photo and additional text (re: bus depot constructed on former site of the Queen's Hotel) to Wiarton Hotels page.
September 27, 2010	Added photo of Wiarton Table Factory to Wiarton's Furniture Industry page.
September 7, 2010	Added link to Wiarton Echo Facebook page - Connecting Passages (Links) page.
September 6, 2010	Added two pictures of cornerstone laying - Wiarton Beet Sugar Factory page. Added two pictures of the demolition of the Wiarton Furniture Factory - Wiarton Furniture Industry page.
February 17, 2010	Updated information and pictures on the establishment of the 1945 Wiarton hospital - "Wiarton's Hopital" page.
February 10, 2010	Updated information on the demolition of the Queen's Hotel - "Wiarton's Hotels" page.
February 6, 2010	Updated links to Great Lakes Vessels Index - Colpoy's Bay "Wrecks Near Whicher's Mill" page.
February 3, 2010	Clarified date that the Royal Bank moved to its current quarters in Wiarton - See page on Wiarton's Banks.
January 27, 2010	Updated and revised links on "Connecting Passages" page.
January 24, 2010	Added new photos and text on the conversion of Wiarton's former grist mill to a housing complex.
January 20, 2009	Added new photo and revised text for Pacific Hotel (Wiarton's Hotels). Added two new photos of construction and new building on former site of Wiarton's Berford Theatre. Added new photo of the former Union Bank building (Wiarton's Banks).
January 19, 2009	Added better photo of Wiarton chair factory. Added photo and additional text on the burning down of Gilpin's planing mill (Wiarton's Furniture Industry).
January 3, 2009	Added page on Edgehill cemetery in Colpoy's Bay.
March 22, 2008	Added additional text about Colpoys Bay Church.
February 28, 2008	Added new image of the original Whicher's Sawmill in Colpoys Bay.
January 15, 2008	Added several images and considerable text concerning the demolition and redevelopment of Wiarton Public School and Wiarton District High School. Also added additional information on the new Peninsula Shores District School.
January 14, 2008	Added additional text on "Wiarton's Furniture Industry" page regarding Canada Casket Company and Siemon Bros. Flooring Factory. Added additional text on "Wiarton's Hospital" page regarding early propositions of a Red Cross Hospital in Wiarton. Added additional images and text on "Berford Street - Part 2".
December 10, 2007	Added text and photo on the demolition of the Colpoys Bay church.
October 12, 2007	Added text and photo on the opening of the Berford Theatre.
September 12, 2007	Added page on the Colpoy's Bay church.
September 9, 2007	Added text and a photo of Wiarton Flooring Factory/Gilpin's Planing Mill (See Wiarton's Furniture Industry page).
March 10, 2007	Added text and advertisement for the Irene Theatre in Wiarton (See Wiarton's Berford Theatre).
February 11, 2007	Updated title banners at the top of each page to more clearly show the text.
January 24, 2007	Modest revisions to text on early days of the Kalbfleisch House in Colpoy's Bay.
January 7, 2007	Significant additions to text on Wiarton's earliest hotels.
January 2, 2007	Added link to photos of three Ontario war memorials based on the same template as Wiarton's. Added improved photos of Wiarton's schoolhouse.
October 18, 2006	Fixed broken links to additional information throughout the website.
October 6, 2006	Added new image of Berford St. looking south from the Arlington Hotel (Berford St. Part 2).
September 27, 2006	Added new page about Wiarton's Grist & Flour Mills.
September 14, 2006	Added new text and images regarding Wiarton's train station.
September 12, 2006	Added new text and images about the demolition of portions of the former Wiarton District High School.
August 13, 2006	Significant factual revisions and additions to the page on Wiarton's Grand Trunk Railway Station.
July 29, 2006	Revised text for Forest Home Hotel, Colpoy's Bay.
July 28, 2006	Revised text for Blue Water Beach page, and added picture of sandy beach. Revised text on Wiarton District High School establishment.
July 17, 2006	Added additional facts on the startup of the Hill Chair Factory in Wiarton.
May 7, 2006	Revised Colpoy's Bay aerial page with new Zoomify software, so large images are now scrollable and zoomable, yet small in filesize. Revised page on Wiarton cement plant with new images, including amazing rare image of the plant under construction.
April 15, 2006
April 21, 2006	Added stunning rare image of the Wiarton Sugar Beet Factory.
April 15, 2006	Updated information/photos regarding the future use of Wiarton's old public school and high school properties. Added text/photos regarding two other hospitals built to the same specifications as Wiarton's original Red Cross hospital.
March 9, 2006	Added text/photo to page on Wiarton's Hotels noting that the facade of the Pacific Hotel was changed in December 2005 when two 2nd floor windows were replaced with one large one, ruining the symmetry of the building's architecture. Added notice that the former lot of the Berford Theatre was sold in February 2006.
February 11, 2006	Extensive addition of text and photos to page on Wiarton's Berford Theatre.
January 25, 2006	Added image of new school to page on Wiarton's Schools. Added new image to page on the Wiarton's Town Hall. Added new text on the history of the E. S. Pease - Wrecks Near Whicher's Mill - Colpoy's Bay.
January 14, 2006	Added new page on the Forest Home Hotel (Colpoy's Bay). Added new image/text to page on the Colpoy's Bay community hall.
December 13, 2005	Added new content and image on the history of the Berford Theatre in Wiarton.
December 7, 2005	Revised text on the construction of the brick (Berford St.) public school, and the apparent sale of the public school and the high school in November of 2005.
November 16, 2005	Added new text on the demolition of the Berford Theatre and the Town Hall bell residing at the new fire station from 1985 to 2005.
November 5, 2005	Added new image of proposed memorial to Wiarton's War Memorial page.
September 23, 2005	Added new images to Wiarton's Furniture Industry page.
September 17, 2005	Very significant changes (text and images) made to "Caframo Ltd. and Wiarton Cement Works" page. Added new image of old Wiarton town hall burning down (see Wiarton's Town Hall page).
September 13, 2005	Added new page "About the Author".
August 31, 2005	Added additional information on the Canada Casket Company, the Hill Chair Co. and the Siemon Bros. Table Factory to the page on Wiarton's Furniture Industry.
August 17, 2005	Added information on ordering a reprinted copy of "Days of the `Mud Hen' and Other Memories of Colpoy’s Bay Village, Ontario" to the Bibliograpy page. Added latest information on Friends of Wiarton's Historic School (mainly regarding the public "town-hall" meeting on August 25, 2005) to the page on Wiarton's Schools.
August 16, 2005	Added additional information on the former site of the Ely House/Commercial Hotel to page on Wiarton's hotels.
August 15, 2005	Added image of The Encore newspaper masthead to page on Wiarton's newspapers. Added image of a Wonderland Theatre (later the Berford) advertisement to page on Wiarton's Berford Theatre. Added image of a Siemon & Hill furniture factory advertisement to page on Wiarton's Furniture Industry.
August 11, 2005	Added a new page on Wiarton's newspapers.
August 2, 2005	Added more detail on the various uses of the former Queen's Hotel site in Wiarton. Added a link to a new image of 1949 construction on the former site of the Queen's Hotel, Wiarton.
August 1, 2005	Added new image of restored Wiarton town bell.
July 6, 2005	Added new image of Wiarton Sugar Beet Factory ruins (1918).
May 18, 2005	Postcards From the Bay moved (unexpectedly) to a new address. Starting today, postcard.wiarton.ca/ has been replaced by postcard.wiarton.ca.
May 8, 2005	Added new details on the funding drive by the Friends of Wiarton's Historic School to restore and redevelop the original Wiarton District High School.
March 24, 2005	New evidence has come to light suggesting that the present-day building I had denoted as the original 1879 Wiarton Woolen Mills is indeed not. This building is nowhere to be seen in 1939 and 1952 aerial photographs. It has also been suggested to me that it is an old barn that may have been moved to its current position and altered in appearance sometime since the late 1960s. I will continue to try and ascertain when the original mill structure was demolished and to identify the true origins of the building I had mislabeled. Any additional information will be added to the Wiarton Woolen Mills page.
March 22, 2005	Significant additions to the page on Wiarton's Furniture Industry.
March 20, 2005	Designed a new introductory page for the website. Revised the Colpoy's Bay introductory page. Added maps of Colpoy's Bay and Wiarton to the menu.
March 9, 2005	Significant expansion of text on two pages: Wiarton Fish Hatchery, Wiarton's Berford Theatre.
February 27, 2005	Added a new page on Wiarton's Town Hall.
February 4, 2005	Added two new pages to the Wiarton section, one on the hospital and the other on the war memorial.
December 31, 2004	Added new image of Wiarton fish house from about 2000, shortly before its demolition.
December 7, 2004	Updated details on the wreck Edward S. Pease near Whicher's Sawmill. See page entitled "The Wrecks Near Whicher's Mill."
November 24, 2004	Added a bibliography of information sources used in writing this website (see menu at left).
November 8, 2004	Added a new (large) page on Wiarton's Furniture Industry.
November 2, 2004	Added a new page on the Wiarton Woolen Mills.
October 26, 2004	Added a new link to a walking tour of Wiarton (hosted on the South Bruce Peninsula website).
October 25, 2004	Added a new image of the Wiarton rock cut. Added some additional info on the Beet Sugar Factory and the Ely Hotel. Updated the Town Hall popup with a much improved image of the Town Hall on fire.
October 22, 2004	Added page on the Colpoy's Bay Schoolhouse. Added some additional info on Colpoy's Bay's first community hall.
October 7, 2004	Added 1899 image of the old Town Hall (then known as Robinson Hall) - see link on Berford St. Part 3. Updated references to images from the Wiarton Souvenir to reflect accurate date (1899).
September 30, 2004	Added additional info on the establishment of Caframo Ltd. in 1954 (see Wiarton Cement Works/Caframo page)
September 12, 2004	Added site map as a secondary navigation tool so that any viewers for which the regular java menu doesn't work can still navigate the site. Added page on Wiarton's Berford Theatre.
September 8, 2004	Added new page on the Wiarton Fish Hatchery. Added a new image and some additional text on the Wiarton Fish House.
September 5, 2004	Reduced file size of all images to improve website loading time. Added many new images and additional text to several pages of the site: Colpoy's Bay - Frame's Falls; Wiarton - Wiarton's Hotels, Wiarton's Schools, Wiarton Beet Sugar Factory, Wiarton Fish House, Wiarton Berford Street (Pages 1 and 3) and Wiarton Railway Station. Watch for new pages on the Wiarton Fish Hatchery and Wiarton's Berford Theatre in the days to come.
July 31, 2004	Added a new page "The Wiarton Fish House" to the Wiarton section
July 29, 2004	Added additional details on the history of the beach in Bluewater Park
July 28, 2004	Added new link to the South Bruce Peninsular website (a wide-ranging community site for the Town of South Bruce Peninsula) on the "Connecting Passages" link page
July 25, 2004	Added additional info on Wood's grist mill and John Wood's death to "Frames Falls" page
July 22, 2004	Replaced photos on Bluewater Park page, Wiarton Cement Works/Caframo Ltd. page, Kalbfleisch Marina page Added a photo to Grand Trunk Railway page
July 1, 2004	Added some additional facts to "The Wrecks Near Whicher's Mill"
June 25, 2004	To celebrate the Town of Wiarton's 125th anniversary and the 4th anniversary of this website, I introduce the first general design overhaul of "Postcards from the Bay" Added new views from Arlington Hotel to "Berford St. - Part 2" Removed old Wiarton page "A View From the Hill" due to overlap with content in Berford St. Part 1 Various small corrections to site content
June 13, 2004	Added link on each page to return to home page Fixed broken links to lot map on Colpoy's Bay pages
May 23, 2004	Added computer image of Wiarton's new school (currently under construction) Added information on drive to preserve Wiarton's old stone high school Updated info on Wiarton hotels, including Arlington Added information to "The Kalbfleisch House" page regarding the fate of Mr. Thomas Galbraith, original owner of the house
April 21, 2004	Added new photo of Wiarton train station
April 14, 2004	Added and replaced several photos in Wiarton pages Added image to Kalbfleisch Marina page
March 30, 2004	New postcard image added to page 3 on Berford Street
March 21, 2004	Significant reorganization, revisions and additions to the first three Wiarton pages (covering Berford Street)
March 8, 2004	Added new details and photos to "Kalbfleisch Dock" page
March 6, 2004	Added new details and dates for Wiarton's Hotels
February 24, 2004	Added new picture of Sugar Beet Factory ruins
February 14, 2004	Added aerial views to Wiarton Page 12 (Grand Trunk Railway Station)
February 10, 2004	Updated info on Wiarton Page 5 (Bluewater Beach) Various small updates to Wiarton pages
February 2, 2004	Updated info on two Wiarton pages (Grand Trunk Railway Station and Beet Sugar Factory)
February 1, 2004	Added new page (Wiarton 12) "The Grand Trunk Railway Station" Added more info to pages on Wiarton sugar beet factory and Wiarton schools
January 25, 2004	Added new page (Wiarton 11) "Wiarton's Banks"
January 24, 2004	Added new page (Wiarton 10) "Wiarton's Schools" Added link to Wiarton main page to return to site homepage
January 22, 2004	Added new page (Wiarton 9) "Wiarton's Hotels"
January 17, 2004	Added new page (Wiarton 8) "Wiarton Beet Sugar Factory" Updated info on scows in Kalbfleisch Marina Switched the page numbering position of Glimpse of the Past and Colpoy's Bay Village From the Air
January 10, 2004	Added new page "Colpoy's Bay Village From the Air" Updated info on the Lothair and Edward S. Pease (see The Wrecks Near Whicher's Mill)
January 5, 2004	Added new page to Colpoy's Bay section on the wrecks near Whicher's Mill
January 4, 2004	Replaced current photo and logo of Caframo Ltd. and added link to official website Added divider in menu to make Wiarton section more distinct
January 3, 2004	Updated Wiarton Cement Works page with new aerial photo from 1950 and further descriptions of the plant layout
January 1, 2004	Added new decorative logos and links to the site Added decorative introductory paragraph to Wiarton section Added quick link logos to get to Colpoy's and Wiarton Intro pages Added new Wiarton decorative header
December 30, 2003	Added redirect to new site at wiarton.ca Fixed broken links to South Bruce Peninsula Community Profiles Fixed broken link to Colpoy's Bay maps Fixed errant directional reference in the caption to Figure W1 Changed background colour of this table
December 25, 2003	Added new links to the Owen Sound Regional Airport and the Billy Bishop Flying Club (including excellent aerial photos of Colpoy's Bay village and Wiarton) Added a new link to Updates page to return to Introductory page.
November 25, 2003	Moved most of the site to postcard.wiarton.ca/ to avoid the bandwidth limit at brinkster.com (entrance to the site is still through Brinkster)
July 11, 2003	added new page "Caframo Ltd./Wiarton Cement Works -- Wiarton Page 7" fixed links to history books as referred to in Colpoy's Bay Introduction updated email address used on Wiarton pages
Mar. 30, 2003	fixed broken links to pop-up map on Colpoy's pages 6, 7 and 10
Jan. 12, 2003	redesigned entire site to use a menu frame to make html code and updates more efficient corrected some more spacing errors added a link page
Sept. 10, 2002	fixed spacing errors and broken links to book references on the introductory page fixed counters on introductory page
Sept. 15, 2001	expanded/clarified text and updated justification of images on all Wiarton pages updated or added additional images and text to Wiarton Pages 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. added an additional photo and text to Colpoy's Bay page 6
Sept. 14, 2001	expanded/clarified text on Colpoy's Bay pages added a new picture of Frame's Falls to Page 6 added recent views of Albemarle St. to Page 7
Nov. 3, 2000	made a few grammatical/accuracy corrections to Colpoy's pages
Nov. 2, 2000	added two new pages of Wiarton postcards including several views of the harbour and shoreline, plus some views looking south down Berford Street from the north end of Wiarton added a new image of view looking west from the Wiarton wharf minor text changes to previous Wiarton pages
Oct. 31, 2000	added this "Recent Updates" page
Oct. 30, 2000	reorganized page order to improve flow of text added two new pages: Albemarle St. and The Community Hall added section on Wood's Mill improved text on many pages including a somewhat philosophical tie-up on "Glimpses of the Past" Decreased the size of some images for better viewing at 800x600 resolution added pop-up window with an 1870 lot map for Colpoy's Bay village and a table pointing out the locations of various properties
Oct. 27, 2000	added comparative 1926 and 2000 photo of Whicher's store and Albemarle St.

Postcards From the Bay was launched April 14, 2000

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