Jarvis and Port Dover Ontario in Colour Photos: Saving Our History One Photo at a Time

JarvisJarvis is located near the towns of Simcoe, Cayuga, Port Dover and Hagersville. Jarvis is strategically located at the junction of Highways 3 and 6. Jarvis has some excellent examples of brick architecture. Many of the historic homes were built after 1873. Many of the town's restaurants and shops are clustered around the intersection of the highways. The majority of the buildings are red brick.Port DoverIn 1794, Mr. Peter Walker was the first settler of this community known as Dover Mills. During the War of 1812, there was an American raid here on May 14, 1814. After making their landing on the shore, 750 American soldiers launched a surprise attack on the village's civilians. Scattered elements of nearby militia and regular units tried to defend the village without any success. The survivors rebuilt Port Dover further downstream on Patterson's Creek on the north shore of Lake Erie. Port Dover is the southern terminus for Ontario Highway 6 located 480 kilometres or 300 miles to the south of the Northern Ontario community of McKerrow. This highway stretches northward as a two-lane, undivided highway until the traffic flow increases to four lanes shortly after it departs from Caledonia. This highway allows Port Dover residents direct access to the city of Hamilton, and on to Toronto. The community once had its own railway station with frequent service from the Lake Erie & Northern Railway, owned by Canadian Pacific Railway. The Port Dover beaches caused most of the passenger traffic to occur during the summer months. A railway ticket to the "distant" community of Galt cost $1.55 per person during the late spring of 1949 (about $15.63 in today's money). Rail service was also offered on the Port Dover & Lake Huron Railway (later purchased by Canadian National) line from the Caledonia Train Station to Port Dover.In 1974, the town was amalgamated into the new city of Nanticoke within the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk.The first Port Dover lighthouse was a twenty-four foot high wooden structure built on the west pier at the mouth of the Lynn River in 1845 as a small harbour light for the active shipbuilding, square timber trade, inshore fishery, and, later, coal and railway shipping. It burned down in 1846 and was rebuilt in 1847.