Bayfield is a community in the municipality of Bluewater, Huron County in

southwestern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with a 2016 population of 1,112. Bluewater Municipality includes Bayfield, Bruce field, Dashwood, Hensall, Varna, and Zurich This municipality is made up of 92.8% English speaking people, 6.3% of other language speaking people and 0.9% of French speaking people as of 2016. In addition to this the majority of Bayfield's population is made up of Canadians, creating 88.2% of the population in the year 2016. It is on the eastern shore of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

at the mouth of

Bayfield River The Bayfield River is a river in Huron and Perth Counties in southwestern Ontario, Canada, that empties into Lake Huron at the community of Bayfield in the municipality of Bluewater. The river and community are named after Henry Wolsey Bayf ...

. Bayfield is a popular tourist destination. Visitors enjoy the historic Main Street with its many well-preserved old buildings, including the Little Inn which has served travelers since the 1800s, initially as a stagecoach stop. Main Street is lined with boutique shops, art galleries and fine dining restaurants. The nearby marina and public beaches draw crowds in the summer months.

History

Harbor, Bayfield, Ontario, Canada (1910)

Bayfield was founded in 1832 by Carel Lodewijk, Baron van

Tuyll Tuyll is the name of a noble Dutch family, with familial and historical links to England, whose full name is Van Tuyll van Serooskerken. Several knights, members of various courts, literary figures, generals, ambassadors, statesmen and explorers ...

van Serooskerken (1784-1835), a Dutch nobleman who had purchased in the area, part of a much larger holding in the Huron Tract that he purchased from the

Canada Company The Canada Company was a private British land development company that was established to aid in the colonization of a large part of Upper Canada. It was incorporated by royal charter on August 19, 1826, under an act of the British parliament,, ...

.History of Bayfield, Ontario
Retrieved 3 July 2018. Over the next 10 years, a plan was laid out for the community and two mills (grist and lumber) were built. It was named for noted Great Lakes surveyor and British naval officer Admiral

Henry Wolsey Bayfield Admiral Henry Wolsey Bayfield (21 January 1795 – 10 February 1885) was a British naval officer and surveyor. Early life and career Bayfield was born in Kingston-upon-Hull, to John Wolsey Bayfield and Eliza Petit. His family was an ancien ...

, who had personally selected the site for the community. The mouth of the Bayfield River is a natural sheltered harbour and by 1869, the settlement was a port of entry and vessels touched here on their route from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

to Goderich. Stages travelled daily to Seaforth. In 1869, when the population was only 125, the settlement had a wagon and plough making shop, two blacksmiths, a distiller, a brickyard and two tanneries. A large, permanent harbour was built during the 1870s. By 1876, Bayfield was incorporated as a village, with a population of 846. In 1982, Bayfield was declared a heritage conservation district. The Town Hall was built in 1882 and was not moved to its present location on Clan Gregor Square until 1920. By then, Bayfield had been in decline for at least 20 years, because the railway was built far from this area. By 1984, it was closed as a fire hazard; fund raising allowed for repairs, and the hall was re-opened in 1993. On January 1, 2001, Bayfield merged with Hensall, Zurich, Stanley and Hay to create Bluewater Municipality and the Bayfield Town Hall was used for community events. Additional upgrades to the building were made in 2013 and 2016.

Geography

Climate

As Blue Water is located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron this has impacted the climate of the region, having an influence of rain and snow in the community close to the shores.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Bayfield had a population of 1,250 living in 628 of its 906 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,218. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Arts and culture

As a small community Bayfield has many yearly traditions which include the Bayfield Fair in August, and Christmas in Bayfield, which takes place the weekend after Remembrance Day and includes the lighting of the trees in Clan Gregor Square as well as an annual Christmas Parade. Other annual events include the Fireman's Breakfast, Pioneer Park 5k Run, Santa Run, Halloween Witches Walk, and Corvette Fest and Volks Fest. Bayfield has the largest croquet club in North America and members compete internationally. The Bayfield Historical Society operates a heritage centre containing historic artifacts, newspapers, and photographs. Tours are available.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Bayfield is located on Kings Highway 21 which is also known as Bluewater Highway, south of Goderich.

Gallery

Bayfield Town Hall.jpg, Bayfield's Town Hall Christmas Parade in Bayfield.jpg, Bayfield Christmas Parade Main Beach in Bayfield.jpg, Bayfield's Main Beach File:1904, Bayfield Ice Flood.jpg, In 1904, Bayfield Bayfield had an ice flood

References

External links

Bayfield Chamber of Commerce
website {{authority control Designated places in Ontario Communities in Huron County, Ontario Populated places established in 1832 Former villages in Ontario 1832 establishments in Canada Populated places disestablished in 2000