Wiarton sits squarely at the head of the long gash in the Niagara Escarpment known as Colpoy Bay. It is named after Wiarton Place in Maidstone, Kent, the birthplace of the Governor General of Canada during the 1850's when Wiarton was first settled. The long jutting headlands make sailing the Bay a protected but magnificant experience, especially with the three islands, Griffith, Hay and Whitecloud, looking like a necklace separating Colpoy from Georgian Bay. In its very early history, Wiarton was a landing stage for natives and voyageurs portaging their canoes and cargo across this narrow part of the Peninsula to Lake Huron, thereby avoiding the sometimes treacherous waters at the tip of the Bruce. Once a lumber town, with seven mills, from rough to finishing, ringing the Bay, Wiarton is a bustling full service town with five motels, a hotel, cottages and bed and breakfasts in town or nearby. Recently, the former municipalities of the Township of Albemarle, Township of Amabel, Village of Hepworth and the Town of Wiarton have been amalgamated into one local government body - the new Town of South Bruce Peninsula. (by funk)
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