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The Township of Huron merged with the village of Lucknow and Kinloss
Township to form an amalgamated community in 1999.
The sparkling waters of Lake Huron inspired the name of the former
Huron Township, lying at the south-west corner of Bruce County.
The former Kincardine Township sits to the north while the former
Township of Kinloss lies to the east. The fertile farmland was covered
with trees of various species including pine, beech, maple, oak
and evergreens. The forests disappeared as settlers arrived in the
1800s and cleared the land for farms and settlement. The Pine River
and its tributaries flow through the township, while the Eighteen
Mile River drains a minute southern section.
Before settlers arrived in the area, First Nations people traveled
around, traveling the Pine River by canoe. A sacred burial ground
was located near the mouth of the river.
Settlement occurred initially along the shoreline as early as 1848.
The sand beaches made easier traveling for the first settlers than
cutting a path through the dense bush. As most settlers arrived
on foot or by boat on Lake Huron from Goderich, using the beaches
as roads made sense. Many families lost their possessions when the
small boats they were traveling in overturned in rough water.
In 1852, a group of 109 families settled in what is now Ripley.
Evicted from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, this group is believed
to be one of the largest groups to travel together and settle in
one place in Canada. Although many of the settlers to the township
were from the "Old Country", many others relocated from
the other settled parts of Canada-what are now Ontario, Quebec and
the Eastern Provinces.
In 1886, the first graveled roads appeared in the county, laying
the groundwork for today's highways. Up until the early 1900s, farmers
and their teams of horses laid gravel and maintained the county
roads. In 1874, the first train tracks crossed the township and
established the village of Ripley as a commercial centre.
The population of the township reached its peak during 1885-1890
and then began to shrink as township residents moved to Western
Canada, Michigan, the Dakotas and Minnesota. With the construction
of the nuclear power plant at Douglas Point, the township's population
has grown with the number of employees.
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