THE WAY WASAGA WAS

While this area of Southern Georgian Bay has seen many changes since the glaciers created our sandy shoreline thousands of years ago, over the last one hundred years or so, we have been known to be the welcoming Tourist Resort Town of Wasaga Beach, affectionately known for generations as simply “The Beach”.

Perhaps the very first tourist to walk along what is now Wasaga Beach, was a young Etienne Brule who was sent this way from New France (Quebec) as a scout by Samuel de Champlain in the early 1600s. It was 16 year old Etienne who became the first non-native to see the area and our beautiful beach. Long before Etienne’s visit, the native Algonquins called this area home and named the river that extends far beyond our boundaries for the area here in Wasaga Beach, or the “mouth of the river”, as the Algonquin word Nottawasaga loosely translates. A settlement had been established on the shores of the Nottawasaga River in Wasaga Beach, known as Schooner Town and later Fort Nottawasaga, used by the First Nations people of the area and by the military in the early 1800s. The river remained an important part of the recognized travel route for natives and the military traveling from York (now Toronto) to ports, forts and settlements on Georgian Bay.

An important battle of the War of 1812, took place in Wasaga Beach, a battle that changed the outcome of the conflict and contributed to Canada remaining as sovereign nation. In September of 1814, as it seemed the war was coming to an end with three American warships following the last remaining British vessel on the Upper Great Lakes, the Schooner Nancy, loaded with supplies destined for Fort Michilimackinac, entered and anchored in the Nottawasaga River in hopes of evading the enemy. As her masts became visible to the three enemy vessels anchored off shore in the bay, a battle begun that sent enemy cannon balls blasting across our Main Beach area and the invasion of American troops onto our shores. The resulting battle left the charred hull of the HMS Nancy at the bottom of the river, later creating what is now Historic Nancy Island in Wasaga Beach. The goods and supplies on board were saved before the sinking of their ship. Lieutenant Worsley, Commander of the HMS Nancy and his crew, with much determination and hardship, completed the mission of delivering the goods and supplies by canoe and bateau to Fort Michilimackinac and in doing so, managed to board, capture and rename two of the American ships, re-flagging them as British and aiding in ending the conflict with the United States of America.

Many industries flourished in the Wasaga Beach area with the bay and the river being an important part, including fisheries and the harvesting of roe (caviar) from the vast number of Sturgeon that were plentiful in the Nottawasaga River. In the area all around the bay and river, large mature White Pines stood tall and generated the logging industry that flourished here, taking advantage of the waterways to transport the huge logs to other ports and towns.
In the late 1800s, there were plans for the railway extending north of York (Toronto) to have a terminus at the mouth of the Nottawasaga River in Wasaga Beach, while creating a harbour linking the rails with the important shipping traffic on Georgian Bay. These grand plans for the area had an enterprising entrepreneur by the name of John Van Vlack purchase property and develop the first real settlement in Wasaga Beach. The Village of Van Vlack included a mill, stores and post office and John Van Vlack constructed the first bridge across the river, connecting the beach to the mainland.
Although the railroad eventually decided on what is now Collingwood as their terminus and harbour, it was the developing village of Van Vlack that generated the interest in our fantastic beach and river from the tourists travelling north from the Toronto area. As a derivative of the word Nottawasaga, the chosen names of the river and the bay, the stretch of sand that could be seen for miles, was referred to by many as “Wasaga Beach”.

By the early 1900s, people were flocking to the area known

as Wasaga Beach, although it was not a recognized village until the 1940s. Cottage courts first sprung up along the beach and river to welcome the tourists coming to enjoy the sand and surf and hotels soon followed. One of the first beachfront hotels was the Capstan Inn that opened in 1912. Although the original hotel burned down after two short years, it was quickly replaced with a new, larger, multi-story hotel that existed into the 1980s. With the success in the early years of the Capstan Inn, a large beachfront Dance Pavilion was constructed across the street from the hotel, opening in 1918 and named for the most popular song of the day, “Dardanella”. The Dardanella Dance Hall remains on our beachfront today at Beach Drive and 1^st Street.

Throughout the decades, Wasaga Beach welcomed millions of visitors with many motels, cottage courts, hotels, beverage rooms and attractions that included one of Canada’s largest midways on the beachfront, large indoor arcades, professional Stock Car Track, world class zoo, bowling alleys and movie theatres (both indoor and outdoor). Often referred to as “Canada’s Daytona”, we became the summer get-away for the growing population of Toronto, Quebec and the northern states.

Main Street between the Main Street Bridge and Beach Drive was an active and exciting place for visitors and locals to shop, dine and be entertained. This true “Downtown” was the place to be seen in The Beach. In 1972, Wasaga Beach joined the many communities who embraced the pedestrian mall concept and this stretch of Main Street was closed to vehicles and “The Mall” was opened.

In November of 2007, a devastating fire took place on this historic stretch of Main Street and as a result, 70% of the structures were lost.

In the late 1960s, the arrival of the new sport of snowmobiling meant that Wasaga Beach could truly become a Four Seasons Resort and accommodation operators, restaurants and entertainment facilities quickly “winterized” to welcome the new found winter tourists who enjoyed our trails, the frozen river, snow covered beach and of course our welcoming residents and businesses. Wasaga Beach was known as “The Snowmobile Capital of Ontario!”

In 1974 the Village of Wasaga Beach became a town, ultimately with our boundaries stretching from Collingwood in the west to Tiny Township to the north. The creation of the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park gives us one of the few truly “urban Provincial Parks”, meaning the entire park is within our municipal boundaries.

The Main Beach areas continue to be a focal point of fun and entertainment and our World Famous Beach will always provide some of the best views and sunsets in the world. Historic Main Street is now active with local and unique offerings and entertainment throughout the summer months.

Exciting plans for the revitalization of our Main Street and our Main Beach areas means that residents and visitors can look forward to seeing new and vibrant changes happening within our community. With our miles of sandy beach and meandering river, Wasaga Beach continues to offer so much to our tourists and those tourists that have decided to make Wasaga Beach home... our residents.

Joe Bickerstaff

“Joe Bickerstaff is owner/partner of Beach BOOSTER Media Group., locally owned and operated in Wasaga Beach.
Look for your free beach BOOSTER publication throughout town for up to date event listings and local news and information.”

One moment please...

Taking too long?

My Lists

My Registries

My Cart

My Profile

My Business

THE WAY WASAGA WAS