Bound by Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, and the Saugeen River, Bruce County is water based. Paddle your canoe or kayak down the Saugeen River; one of Ontario's best river routes. Take your sea kayak out into the sheltered waters of the Fishing Islands or enjoy the rugged cliffs of the escarpment on the Bruce Peninsula. Grab scuba tanks and dive the wrecks off Tobermory, rated one of the best dive sites in North America. Enjoy the sun. Bruce County has miles and miles of sandy beaches, for you to relax and soak it up. Cast a line for fun or for dinner. Hoist a sail and run with the wind. Ride aboard a glass bottom boat. Cruise to fabulous harbours or take a ride aboard the MS Chi-Cheemaun on your Natural Retreat.
Long before it was inhabited, the land that became Bruce County was shaped by ice ages, semitropical seas, weathering and mellowing into a rocky finger pointing northwest into Lake Huron. After yet more centuries, native peoples arrived. Seeking what many of today's visitors want, they found abundant fishing, clear waters, and secure refuge. They settled, hunted, and traded.
By the 1800s, very few Europeans had passed along Lake Huron's shore. They left scanty records, and few traces of their presence. Not until the push to open more land for settlement did the surveyors and town-builders, farmers and innkeepers begin to arrive. They came by way of the lake, along trails and down rivers from the more established areas of Canada, or from the even more crowded countries of Europe.
The oldest townships were surveyed into farm lots and opened to settlers in 1850, a mere century and a half ago. At first one of three United Counties, Bruce was joined with Huron and Perth, our neighbours to the south. Bruce's first County Council represented eleven townships. Later, five more were added, then nine villages and six towns.
Numbers tell some of the history: in 1851, the first census recorded 2,837 residents. Thirty years later, the population here totalled 65,218.
In 1867, Bruce was established as an independent County. Its name honours James Bruce, the Scottish Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, who had been Governor General of Canada at the time of the land treaties with the native peoples.
Bruce County today is still a vibrant place to live and work. Locals and visitors alike have enjoyed Bruce County for generations. Since Bruce County opened up for settlers the population has fluctuated greatly, but no matter where our people go, Bruce County is always considered home.
