Port Stanley combines maritime charm with uptown chic - popular fishing village the perfect escape for summer
PORT STANLEY, SITUATED where the Kettle Creek meets Lake Erie, was originally named Kettle Creek. The name was changed in 1824 to Port Stanley, after Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, who was a former prime minister of Great Britain. Lord Stanley was the father of the 16th Earl of Derby, Lord Frederick Stanley, who became Lieutenant-Governor of Canada and the man after whom the Stanley Cup was named.
THE STORK CLUB Big Band Museum and Hall of Fame, which operates an interactive orientation centre at 302 Bridge St. in downtown Port Stanley, is also keeping the Big Band era alive by offering ballroom dance lessons in the community. Check it out online at the group’s new website at www.musicmemories.ca.
KETTLE CREEK GOLF and Country Club, a semi-private 18-hole golf course in Port Stanley, was the former Marr farm. Even if you don’t golf, you can take in the scenic views — the course boasts rolling hills, forests and ponds with swans — from the lounge and patio.
For almost a century, the working fishing village of Port Stanley on Lake Erie has been welcoming visitors in droves each summer, attracted by beautiful beaches, unique shops, galleries and artist studios, tasty regional cuisine and a potpourri of first-class inns, B&Bs and waterside cottages.
In Port Stanley’s heyday, visitors from as far as Cleveland arrived by train and ferry in the thousands and headed to the famous Stork Club, a beachside Big Band dance pavillion that boasted the largest ballroom in North America when it opened in 1926. It wasn’t long before Port Stanley became known as the “Coney Island of the Great Lakes,” with the beach in the first half of the 20th century also featuring a large cafeteria, vendors serving up fries, ice cream and other treats, amusement rides, an outdoor theatre, bath house and giant water slide.
Today, you won’t find a ferris wheel or roller-coaster, but the beachfront is still the star attraction — the Main Beach recently became the first on Lake Erie to be awarded the coveted Blue Flag for environmental friendliness. Families with children, retirees and the young crowd share a beautiful stretch of sand with homes, cottages and restaurants and bars serving up the famous local yellow perch and a healthy side of live music.
While the Stork Club is gone, too — a fire forced its closing in 1979 — the memories live on in the nearby Stork Club Big Band Museum and Hall of Fame on Bridge Street, where you can enjoy interactive audio visual displays, listen to Big Band music and view historical exhibits. The Big Band era is also remembered at the corner of William and George streets, where artist Fred Harrison was commissioned to paint a mural commemorating the famous dance hall.
Historic train ride, old-fashioned orangeade and fresh fish
But not to worry — there’s still plenty of living history to soak up on your visit here:
• Orangeade, the drink that made Port Stanley famous, is still being served at Mackie’s on the beach, along with homemade french fries.
• The King George Lift Bridge, built in 1937 over the scenic Kettle Creek that winds through Port Stanley, still opens at regular intervals to let boats pass beneath it, always attracting a crowd.
• The London & Port Stanley Railway, which opened to traffic in 1856 and operated until 1965, has been brought back to life by the Port Stanley Terminal Railroad, which operates a tourist train from Port Stanley north to Union and St. Thomas. The railway also features special events such as a murder mystery/dinner train. The station, located near the lift bridge, also houses a display of artifacts and a gift store with a huge collection of Thomas the Tank Engine toys.
• Fishing tugs are still front-and-centre in Port Stanley. Head down to the East Dock, where you’ll find modern-day fishery workers on the job. Main Street is home to commercial fisheries, including L.R. Jackson, where you’ll find a fish shop.
• Historic buildings abound, including Christ Church on Colborne Street, which was built in 1845 and is Port Stanley’s oldest place of worship. The famous Kettle Creek Inn, known for its Lake Erie North Shore cuisine, was built in 1849. Take in all the historic sites on a walking or cycling tour.
The majority of visitors to Port Stanley today are daytrippers from the Kitchener, London and St. Thomas area. The village hopes to attract even more tourists now that ownership of the Port Stanley Harbour has been transferred from the federal government to Central Elgin, the community that was formed on Jan. 1, 1998, when the Township of Yarmouth, Village of Belmont and Village of Port Stanley were amalgamated and a small piece of the Township of Southwold was annexed.
Harbour revitalization plans include the extension of the west pier, and development of a park along the harbour's east berm.
Port residents proud of their fishing heritage
Residents have told council they would like to see a small craft harbour with commercial fishing, recreational boats and parkland. Folks here are proud of their working fishing village status, so much so that the recent disappearance of “Quota,” a fibreglass fish sculpture that adorned a Transport Canada sign at the harbour’s Glover Park, caused waves in the community.
The symbolic yellow perch, which had been badly weathered since its installation in 1996, was removed during a construction project that transformed the shady park into a sunny, patterned concrete public square with benches, planters and a Lions Friendship Arch near water’s edge, in recognition of the service club’s 50th anniversary.
When Port Stanley News.com asked readers: Do you think Quota the Perch should be put back up at the harbour?, a whopping 86.73 per cent said “Yes.”
The verdict is still out on whether “the Biggest Perch in Canada” will make a comeback, but you can sample the real thing in any number of local eateries, each vying for the title of best perch platter. Tasting the catch of the day over a glass of Elgin County wine or a beer in downtown Port Stanley is a ritual after an afternoon of shopping or a day at one of the village’s two beaches.
Cap off a perfect day with live theatre by the lake — Port Stanley Festival Theatre, located on the second floor of the former village hall on Bridge Street, has been serving up professional Canadian summer theatre since 1978.
Along with exploring the culinary side of Port Stanley, you’ll want to browse through the village’s unique stores, many of them family-owned. Interspersed with quaint little galleries and artist studios, shopping in Port Stanley is truly a cultural event.
They’ve even made it official: On the first Friday of every month, the Port Stanley Art Walk takes you to the art galleries, shops and restaurants on Main, Bridge and William streets. And if you visit in September, you won’t want to miss the annual artists’ studio tour, where you can get up close and personal with Port’s talented residents.
Gridlock on local streets, bridges
According to the 2006 Census, Central Elgin’s population is 15,607, spread across Port Stanley, Union, Belmont and Sparta. By 2026, the population is expected to grow to 17,633, with much of that growth occurring in Union and Port Stanley, where small residential subdivisions have been cropping up of late, and a trend that has seen property owners convert seasonal cottages to year-round homes is expected to continue.
Between the new residents, visitors, a lift bridge and a downtown that’s right next to a very popular beach, Port Stanley’s streets have been known to get very congested. Looking for a solution, council is considering options that could see the elimination of left-hand turns on busy Edith Cavell Boulevard.
Outside the village, you’ll want to drop by the hamlet of Sparta, about 15 kilometres east of Port Stanley, where you can shop, tour a gallery, soak up the area’s history, relax in a British-themed tea room and visit a colonial-style Quaker meeting house that is still in use for worship today.
You’ll also want to check out the Forge and Anvil Museum on Sparta Line, where pioneer life is on display in a former blacksmith shop, built of clay and straw in 1827. The museum is owned and operated by the Sparta and District Historical Society, which each November hosts an annual re-enactment dinner, featuring food and entertainment circa 1827, at Ye Olde Forge and Anvil on Main Street.
Walk off lunch at the Yarmouth Natural Heritage Area on Sparta Line at Kettle Creek. This 208-acre preserve of Carolinian forest, tall grass prairie and wetlands features many rare species of flora and fauna, including an excellent grove of blue ash, many black maple trees and green dragon wildflowers. Vehicles are banned from the area, which was recently acquired by the Catfish Creek Conservation Authority, as efforts continue to return it to its natural state.
Sample Elgin wine to the sounds of music
While you’re in the area, check out Quai du Vin, an estate winery nestled in the picturesque rolling hills of Central Elgin about three kilometres north of Sparta. The winery’s Summer Sounds Delicious entertainment series is among several events featured throughout the season, including a comedy festival and a race around the vineyard.
If there’s still time in your schedule, head north to St. Thomas, known as the Railroad Capital of Canada. You’ll also find a life-size monument of Jumbo, the famous circus elephant that died in 1885 after being hit by a locomotive. St. Thomas, popular with commuters to London, is about 15 kilometres from downtown Port Stanley.
On the real estate front, recent listings for waterfront property in Port Stanley included a three-bedroom townhome overlooking Kettle Creek and the marina for $134,900, and a three-bedroom townhouse condo on the cliffs with views of Lake Erie and the harbour for $249,900.
At the top end of the budget, $1.2 million will buy you a charming four-bedroom home on one-acre lakefront property complete with pool, ponds, flower gardens and splendid views.