Audio Excerpt

Take a look to the North, you’ll see a pretty tall building right beside the water! At 100 feet high, this imposing grain elevator can be seen for miles around! On a cool September day back in 1929, the steamer Munising pulled into the Collingwood Shipyards. 

 

It proceeded to empty 228,000 bushels of grain into this massive grain elevator, marking the first shipment ever!  228,000 bushels is a lot of grain, but it only took up 11% of the 2 million bushel capacity! Although it’s the only one still standing, this grain elevator was actually the third to open in Collingwood. Grain service started in 1859 and the Collingwood Dry Dock Shipbuilding and Foundry Company Limited opened in 1883. 

 

After 123 years, the grain trade here in Collingwood stopped in 1993. The grain elevator we saw will continue to stand as a landmark and will be a focus of the Collingwood Harbour re-development plan! In 1901, Canada’s first steel-hulled ship was launched from the Collingwood Harbour. 

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The shipyards also produced Lakers and Corvettes for the Royal Canadian Navy during World War 2. Shipbuilding was one of the principal industries of Collingwood, employing as much as 10% of the total labour force.  Today, tourism is one of the main economic drivers of the area. The waterfront provides endless opportunities for summer tourism while activities in The Blue Mountains keep the registers cha changing and the debit cards tap tapping in the winter!