This walking tour starts at the corner of Chisholm Street and Walker Street and ends at the Lakeshore Road Bridge.

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Since its beginnings in the 1820’s, the Oakville harbour has been a source of employment and a means of recreation for generations of Oakville residents. Owned by the Chisholm family from 1829 until 1874, Oakville was the only privately owned harbour in Canada. The harbour has undergone many changes since its acquisition by the Town of Oakville in 1874. 

At the corner of Chisholm Street and Walker Street, turn left and follow the road as it winds down towards the water. The Tannery area was set aside as a Reserve from the very earliest Oakville town plans. The hill at the west side of the harbour entrance is now called Tannery Park. For the second half of the 19th century this was a popular picnic spot for day trippers who came by boat from Toronto. From 2014-2016 major restoration and redevelopment took place and saw construction of the lookout platform and its stylised commemoration of the Tannery chimney, which was a prominent landmark for generations of lake sailors. 

Walk up the hill to Tannery Hill Observation Deck where you will have excellent views of Lake Ontario and 16 Mile Creek.

Take your time at the observation deck and when you are ready, come down the hill and take the driveway toward the water . Follow the sidewalk which takes you beside the harbour and 16 Mile Creek - you can’t miss this as there are dozens of boats docked. On the harbour side there are 5 information plaques. The information on them describe Oakville’s early industries including shipbuilding, water craft, lumber, coal and grain.

Taking a look across the harbour at this point you can see the fabulous sloping gardens of the Erchless Museum. On your left you will see several large rocks with names - they denote names of sailing yachts built in Oakville- AGGIE is one of them. Aggie was built at Andrews Boatyard in Oakville and owned by Cecil G. Marlatt, co-owner of the The Tannery and commodore of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.

Continue along to the end of this sidewalk and follow the path running along side a chain link fence eventually bringing you to the Oakville Yacht Squadron parking lot. Walk across the parking lot to get a closer look at the lighthouse as well as the Oakville Club across the water - The Oakville Club is now a private “membership only” social and recreational club. Its site dates back to 1908

What was once a permanent fixture that marked the mouth of 16 mile creek at Lake Ontario AND perhaps Oakville’s 1st landmark, the old lighthouse now sits on the grounds of the Oakville Yacht Squadron, relieved from duty. The original was built in 1837 and destroyed in a storm in 1886. A new lighthouse was built in 1889 serving the harbour until 1960.

From this vantage point, looking across the harbour you get a glimpse of The Granary - an historical Oakville site. The Granary was built by business partners William Romain and Peter McDougald in 1855 of local lake stone and Kingston limestone. The limestone came as ballast on lake shipping. With 2 ft thick walls, the granary is the only building of its type still in its original location in Ontario. 

North of the Yacht club car park you will see a log cabin set out on its own - the original cabin dates back to 1820 and stood on Trafalgar Rd. at Upper Middle Rd. It is an excellent example of a pioneer log cabin and for this reason it was carefully restored at great expense and moved to this location. Although you can’t enter the cabin, the plaque in front gives you some history on its owners and the structure.

Retrace your steps back to the stairway and climb to the top. This will take you to Forsythe Street, site of the original Tannery works and home of the original Doty Carriage Spring and Axle works from 1851 until 1903 when the vacant building was torn down. Walk to the end of this red brick townhouse complex and turn left onto a pathway which leads down to public washrooms. Here you can stop to read some interesting facts about the Tannery and its co-owner Cecil G. Marlatt. 

Walk along Forsythe to Lakeshore, turn right and walk to the middle of the bridge where you can take in a panoramic view of the habour.