Transitions-Oakville, Burlington and Mississauga Real Estate Blog

Sometimes we lose our way in life and in so doing, we lose the ones that we belong with. Not knowing what to do, we try to fit in with the closest thing we can find to our way of life and the individuals we are most familiar with.

This works out fine, sometimes. Often we find it too hard to try and be something we're not and eventually, after misplacing integral parts of ourselves, we decide we miss our tribe and our old way of life.
Then we pack up and go back to the place and people that feel like 'home'.

Humans are lucky that way. They're able to remember where they belong and who they belong with. Birds aren't always so lucky.

Such is the case with this lone Snow Goose who, for reasons we're not privy to, found himself living with a flock of Canada Geese.
Being lonely and wanting a mate, he chose one of the Canada Goose females.

The pair seem happy enough; however a closer look reveals some marital discord.
It's always him following her.
She seems totally oblivious to his amour and more intent on doing her own thing wandering around Erchless Estate in Old Oakville.

I felt kind of sad for this Snow Goose. He seemed so out of place.

Perhaps one day, maybe when the flock he's chosen to be with is stopped somewhere along their migration route in the fall, he'll spot a band of Snow Geese and will recognize them as his own.

Until then, he's happy to just follow along and pretend he's a Canada Goose with a lovely Canada Goose mate.

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

Living in Old Oakville - Spring is Making Her Appearance

Old Oakville, an area that encompasses the original old village of Oakville, is situated in south-central Oakville along the shores of Lake Ontario.


This time of year, Old Oakville, with it's majestic, old trees and unique early homes, comes alive with birdsong, trees and shrubs in bloom and garden beds alive with spring flowers.


Erchless Estate gardens overlooking Lake Ontario come alive in spring.


The white picket fences of yesteryear are a common sight in Old Oakville.

Thinking of making a move to Old Oakville?

To receive a complete list of homes currently available in Old Oakville, contact Jo-Anne Smith, Sales Representative with Brekland Realty Group, Brokerage, Oakville, Ontario at

905-285-0673 or 289-837-2132

To receive regular updates by email, contact Jo-Anne at

OakvilleAndBeyond@gmail.com

Old Oakville, a gracious place to live, comes alive in spring with the sights and sounds of long ago.

©2010JoSmith

Old Oakville Real Estate Market Report, Oakville, Ontario - February 2010

Oakville's oldest community, Old Oakville was the first area to be settled due to it's natural harbour at the mouth of Sixteen Mile Creek.
With the proximity to the harbour, early settlement flourished.

Today, Old Oakville encompasses the Old Oakville Heritage Conservation District, consisting of 162 residences that were built in the 19th century.
Using river and lake stone for the foundations, many of these homes have since been recognized with plaques near their entrances. The plaques indicate the original owner (and often the original owner's occupation) and the year in which the house was built.

Residents and tourists alike enjoy taking a stroll through the streets of Old Oakville to view these unique and beautiful heritage homes.

Old Oakville is also known as the Old Oakville Downtown Residential Area.
Oakville's main downtown core can be found here with many  theatres, excellent shopping and dining facilities, marinas and parks.
The Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital is also found within the boundaries of Old Oakville.

Property sales were very active for the month of February, this year, with 11 sales at an average sales price of $818,309 . This is a bit of a rise over the average sale price in February 2009 which was $789,600 . 

Homes in Old Oakville are selling much quicker this year than in 2009 with an average time on the market of 46 days in the month of February 2010. It took an average of 59 days for a home to sell in February 2009.

With a relative shortage of listings for sale in the Old Oakville area, now is an excellent time to sell.

View Old Oakville, Oakville, Ontario in a larger map
Buyers who wish to live in the community of Old Oakville would be making an excellent investment when buying a home here.

To have a list of all townhouses, condominiums and detached homes currently available in the Old Oakville area of Oakville emailed to you
or to find out the market value of your Old Oakville home,
contact Jo-Anne Smith at 289-837-2132 or by email at  OakvilleAndBeyond@gmail.com

For regular updates on how the real estate market in Old Oakville, Oakville is doing, become a subscriber to this blog or to www.OakvilleAndBeyond.com .