Transitions-Oakville, Burlington and Mississauga Real Estate Blog

Old Oakville Heritage Conservation District

Designated in 1981, the Old Oakville Heritage Conservation District is a unique, living historical account of what the original village of Oakville, first surveyed in 1833, was like.

Extending along the Lake Ontario lakeshore from Allan Street in the East to Sixteen Mile Creek in the west and Robinson Street to the north, the Old Oakville Heritage Conservation District retains much of it's original charm with many of Oakville's original early homes having been preserved.

The original homes of Oakville are commemorated with a white plaque near their doorstep.
The plaque, erected by the Oakville Historical Society, indicates the year the structure was built and who the original owner was.

The original survey of Oakville, completed in 1833, consisted of the area south of Rebecca and Randall Streets, east of Brock Street and west of Allan Street.
The area was subdivided into 1 1/2 acre blocks. Each block was further broken down into 6 lots and the lots were lettered alphabetically from A to F.

In May of 1833, the most valuable town and water lots were sold publically. This was the first public sale of lots in what was to become the Town of Oakville.

Conditions were placed on the sale of the lots and each buyer had to agree to build a structure no less than 24' x 18' within 18 months of owning the lot.

You can just imagine the building activity that took place during those 18 months in 1833 and 1834.
The little harbour village would have been alive with hammers and workers as the exciting anticipation of each family's first home took hold of the community.

The years passed and Oakville prospered. In 1851 census records show a population of 916.

The town of Oakville, named after the great abundance of Oak trees in the area and after it's founding father, William 'White Oak' Chisholm, grew to a village of 130 frame homes and 4 brick homes by the mid 1800s.

Today you can take a walk through this Old Oakville Heritage Conservation District and view many of these quaint and beautiful historical homes, that have stood the test of time and are still alive today with residents, gardens and activity.

©2010JoSmith

Old Oakville - Oakville Harbour - Lake Ontario Marinas

Oakville Harbour had it's beginnings when Colonel William Chisholm purchased 1000 acres of Crown land at the mouth of Sixteen Mile Creek in 1827.

As a man of determination and vision, Chisholm  had a dream of building the first privately owned harbour for Upper Canada.
In 1834 Oakville was declared a Port of Entry into Canada and Chisholm's dream came true.

Old growth forests still covered much of Ontario in the early 1800s and a major export from Upper Canada, via the Oakville Harbour, was pine timbers and oak staves.

As the lumber industry grew, staples such as wheat were required to feed the growing population. Storage grainaries began to flourish as wheat production increased along the rich farmlands that bordered Lake Ontario.





By the mid-1800's, a recession caused the price of wheat to drop along with a slowdown in Oakville's foundry and harbour businesses.

The industrious Oakville area farmers turned their sights on fruit production to help offset the losses in income they were experiencing from the drop in wheat prices.
Oakville became a major exporter of strawberries.

Eventually the railroad was built through Oakville and the harbour was no longer in such great demand for the delivery and exportation of supplies and goods.

With it's beautiful beaches and waterfront, Oakville became one of the most sought after holiday areas for tourists in the summer months and the Oakville Harbour at Sixteen Mile Creek once again became a hub of activity as boats by the hundreds brought wealthy summer guests.

In 1907 The Oakville Club was built and Oakville became the destination for the Royal Canadian Yacht Club Races from Toronto.

Today the Oakville Harbour, in Old Oakville, is primarily used by pleasure boaters with thousands of boaters from far and wide visiting during the busy boating season.

©2010JoSmith