Годерич: История, Трагедия и Возрождение Канадского Города

Town in Ontario, Canada
As of the Canada 2016 Census, the population is 7,628 in a land area of 8.64 square kilometres. The town indicates that tourism is among its important industries. It has been named one of Ontario's best small towns by Comfort Life, a website for retirement living in Canada. The town participates yearly in the Communities in Bloom competition; and has won awards in many categories. In 2012, Goderich was a National Finalist in the competition, and was also part of the Circle of excellence.

Goderich's downtown has an octagonal roundabout known as 'The Square'. The county courthouse stands in the middle of The Square. This is where, in 1959, Steven Truscott was convicted of murdering Lynne Harper. The conviction was overturned in 2007. The Square was formally listed in the Register of Historic Place by the Government of Canada in May 2007. The Town had already recognized the value of the area in 1982, under the Ontario Heritage Act. The Square was designed and developed between 1840 and the mid 1890s and in its early days, contained the main office of the Canada Company which helped to develop much of the county. The design of the square a "radial composition" is attributed to John Galt of the Company, inspired by ancient Roman city plans. Over the years it was called "Market Square", "The Square" or "Courthouse Square" by locals. The original courthouse was located here but was destroyed in a fire and replaced by a modern structure in the 1950s. Contrary to a popularly held belief, plans for The Square were not intended for Guelph. It is thought this rumour started when Goderich was founded, as town planners the Canada Company originally wanted their community to be called Guelph after the Royal Family; the Company eventually resigned to accepting the decisions of Superintendent John Galt to keep the name Goderich.

On the afternoon of 21 August 2011, an F3 tornado touched down in the area, after coming ashore as a waterspout, with the mesocyclone thunderstorm cell moving across Lake Huron. It was the strongest tornado that had hit Ontario since the Arthur, Ontario tornado of April 20, 1996, though on average, F3 tornadoes occur in Ontario every eight years. The devastating storm downed power lines, tore roofs from houses, and left cars and trees scattered along city streets. Hundred year old trees surrounding the Goderich Courthouse were uprooted in seconds. The tornado killed one person: Norman Laberge, 61, of Lucknow, who was working on a dock associated with a salt mine on the coast of Lake Huron when the storm hit. 37 people were injured. The Environment Canada weather forecast office in Toronto issued a tornado warning for Goderich and southern Huron County 12 minutes before the tornado struck. The town did not have a tornado siren unlike some other Ontario cities. News reports later indicated that one hundred houses, 25 buildings and thousands of 150 plus year old trees were seriously damaged or destroyed.

After the tornado, the roofs of several buildings around the square had been destroyed, and the trees in the green space around the courthouse had been damaged or uprooted. A year later, 152 of the 170 downtown businesses had reopened but reconstruction of the courthouse, some historic buildings and the trees in the area took much longer. By 2015, the park had re opened with a new band shell. New trees, greenery, a statue and a water feature had been installed in front of the court house. Much of the area around the park had been reconstructed including commercial building on Kingston Street and The Square. The last work to be completed was the Kingston block of commercial buildings on Kingston Street and The Square. Although the farmers' market and flea market had closed before the tornado, it re opened.

Goderich is in Huron County which is primarily agricultural. In fact, the Official Plan indicates that "Huron leads all counties and regions in Ontario in total value of production; and it also exceeds the production totals of several provinces." However, the town does have some manufacturing with companies such as Compass Minerals and Vestas. The salt mining industry in Goderich is one of the oldest in Ontario. In 1866, petroleum exploration crews found a massive ancient salt deposit about under the surface. To date, 150 million tons of salt has been produced from the mine and by 2012, after recent investments, it will be able to produce 9 million tons a year This all started in 1866 when prospector Sam Platt was searching for oil and instead discovered rock salt 300 metres beneath Goderich Harbour. Just over 50 years ago harvesting of the salt began, and continues today by Sifto Canada. The mine is 1750 feet (533 m) below surface, extending under Lake Huron roughly the size of the town. It is the largest underground salt mine in the world. The Town currently lists Canadian Salt Co./ Windsor Salt Warehouse and the Compass Minerals Evaporator and its Goderich Mine as businesses involved in this industry. Volvo once operated a road grader manufacturing plant in Goderich. The plant, originally operated by locally owned Champion Road Machinery, was one of the world's oldest manufacturers of road equipment. It was acquired by Volvo in 1997. In September 2008, Volvo announced plans to close all operations in Goderich and move operations to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Production in Goderich ceased in 2009.

Tourism is also significant because many visitors spend time on the Lake Huron shore, including three beaches near Goderich, and may shop or stay overnight in town. Goderich has festivals and events each year that appeal to some visitors as well as local attractions. The Huron Historic Gaol is a National Historic Site of Canada. It served as the region's gaol (old English form of jail) from its opening in 1842 until 1972. It is open to the public between April and October. This is the site of the last public hanging in Canada. James Donnelly Sr. of the Black Donnellys also spent time here before his trial. As well, Steven Truscott was held here for some time. The Huron County Museum is a community museum which offers modern exhibition galleries. Permanent exhibits depict the early settlement and development of Huron County, including a full size locomotive, a World War II Sherman tank, an extensive military collection, and an exhibit related to salt mining in the area. The museum also collects and maintains the Huron County Archives. Goderich features three public use beaches which can be reached by car following signage in town to the beach hill, also known as West Street. After parking, beach users can also walk along a wooden boardwalk over a mile in length (in late 2019, the boardwalk was damaged by strong waves, and it has been under repairs through 2020). The main beach, at the north end of the walkway is a sand and fine gravel beach where swimmers and sunbathers can watch lake freighters loading up with salt on the other side of the pier. Further south is St. Christopher's beach and at the far end of the boardwalk is "Rotary Cove", a family friendly sand beach with lifeguards and playground equipment. Of interest as well, are the man made groynes along the beach, put in place to control sand migration from the action of water currents. Aside from annual festivals and events, Goderich hosts occasional special events, such as during Goderich's 150 year celebration Jubilee 3 there was a Skydiving Jamboree at the Goderich Airport. This event attracted hundreds of parachutists from all over the U. S. A. and Canada.

Goderich has its own official flag, which was adopted in 1977 for the town's 150th birthday celebration. A contest was held, open to all Goderich schools and residents. It was won by Goderich resident Judge Carter from St. Vincent St. The flag shows the royal crown centred in an octagon (representing the 1/4 mile octagonal 3 lane town square) with 3 waves at the bottom on a blue background representing Lake Huron and the Port of Goderich. The Town also has a full town crest.

Besides school teams, during the winter season, hockey is prevalent in most Canadian small towns, Goderich being no exception. The town supports the Jr. C Goderich Flyers, much of the talent on the Flyers being of local origin.

The Goderich municipal council includes a Mayor, Deputy Mayor and five Councillors. The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor are also members of the County Council. The Huron County Council consists of fifteen members from the nine area municipalities. Each is represented on this Council. Each year, a Warden is elected from the group and chairs meetings and represents the County at various functions. In 2022, the Warden was Glen McNeil, also Reeve of Ashfield Colborne Wawanosh Township.

Goderich Airport (known unofficially as Sky Harbour Airport) is a community airport with three runways: two are paved, with runway lighting, and one is grass. It is located directly north of the town, and is accessible via the Bluewater Highway north of the community. During WWII, The airport was the site of an Elementary Flying Training School as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. It is an industrial harbour, used primarily to load salt from the Sifto salt mines onto lake and ocean freighters. Snug Harbour is a marina located within the industrial harbour basin; Maitland Valley Marina is also located near Goderich.

The Goderich Exeter Railway currently operates freight service to Goderich. The line was built by the Buffalo and Lake Huron Railway in 1859. The railway was soon taken over by the Grand Trunk Railway, later CN. In 1992, the line was sold to the GEXR. The Canadian Pacific Railway built its own line, the Guelph and Goderich Railway, into Goderich in 1907. Passenger service ran until the 1960s. The entire line was abandoned in 1989. The trestle crossing over the Maitland River was converted through public fund raising into a public walkway, offering views of the harbour, Maitland Valley golf course and the river valley itself. The Ontario West Shore Railway started to build a railway from Goderich to Kincardine in 1909, but it was never completely opened.

Public education in Goderich is managed by the Avon Maitland District School Board, with Goderich District Collegiate Institute (GDCI) and Goderich Public School (grades from junior Kindergarten to grade 6) in the town. GDCI was founded in 1841, and stood at the corner of Waterloo St. and Britannia Road, until the present building was completed. Goderich Public School is an amalgamation of Victoria Public School and Robertson Memorial Public School. Catholic schools are managed by the Huron Perth Catholic District School Board, which has St. Mary's Catholic School in town. The nearest Catholic high school is located in Clinton.

The local newspaper is the Goderich Signal Star, owned by Quebecor/Sun Media Corporation through Bowes Publishers.

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