"GRAND BEND"
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Hard Oiler
N 43° 18.705 W 081° 45.660
17T E 438286 N 4795716
Named after the tight hairpin bend in the original course of the Ausable river, Grand Bend is one of the oldest communities in Lambton County
Waymark Code: WMAVQ
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 04/19/2006
Views: 42
The settlement began in the 1830’s when a group of English and Scottish settlers bought lots from the Canada Company. One of the original settlers, Benjamin Brewster gave his name to the village after he secured rights to dam the Ausable River and started a sawmill in 1832. The villagers were mainly the families of the millhands and fisherman.
Improved roads and the arrival of the automobile near the turn of the century had the greatest influence on the growth of Grand Bend. Businesses were established to serve visitors and travellers along the highway and, with the beach, “The Bend” became a summer destination. The Lombardo Brothers Orchestra (later Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians) played their first major engagement in 1919 at a dance pavilion at Grand Bend.
Still a vacation destination the year-round population of 1,000 swells to about 40,000 during the summer months and amenities for tourists include many eateries, art galleries, a summer theatre, a motor racing circuit, a near-by drive-in movies theatre and Pinery Provincial Park.
Image and Text from Ontarioplaques.com
