TOP TEN THINGS YOU WON'T KNOW ABOUT SOUTHAMPTON
(unless you get the 150th Anniversary Calendar)
1. Capt. William Kennedy, one of the first two Europeans to settle here (along with Capt. John Spence) arrived in 1848 but then after three years had to leave for the Arctic to lead the search for missing explorer Sir John Franklin.
2. Though the village was incorporated as "Southampton" in 1858, the post office used the name "Saugeen" until around 1890.
3. The Saugeen has been crossed by bridges ever since 1865 ... except for one period of three months. Spring floods in 1912 took out both the Denny's Dam bridge and the Victoria Street bridge. From April to June you needed a boat to cross the river.
4. Hurricane Hazel killed two people in Southampton in 1954. On the night of Oct. 16 the remnants of the hurricane brought heavy rain and widespread flooding. At 11:30 p.m. the CNR train toppled over at a washout just short of Southampton station, killing two crew.
5. Possibly the most-moved house in town has now settled down at 20 Beach Street. It started out as the government life-saving station, built in 1908 on the beach near Palmerston St. It was moved onto the Long Dock in 1918, then retired in 1937 and moved ashore to its current location.
6. Peaceful Fairy Lake, in the heart of town, was once an industrial site, home to a tannery built in 1880 and destroyed by fire in 1900, throwing 100 out of work.
7. Before electric refrigerators, Southamptonites relied on blocks of ice cut out of Fairy Lake and Miramichi Bay and stored in ice houses. The average household wooden fridge held a 25-pound block of ice which cost 15 cents and with luck lasted three days.
8. In the winter children were warned not to play on the ice at Fairy Lake ... because of the large holes left by the ice cutters.
9. 80 years ago Southampton's championship baseball team, the Fishermen, were backed by Southampton's only known millionaire, A. Fred Bowman. Fred was hit in the eye by a foul ball, seriously damaging his sight, but he still supported the team afterward.
10. The 135th Anniversary Flag Pole at the foot of High Street is 135 feet high.
More links
 Southampton, Then and Now: historical calendar
16 historical captions from the calendar ... read them all.
The news release announces publication of the calendar.
See the summary of important dates in Southampton history (1816 to 1993).
The people on the 150th Anniversary organizing committee are all volunteers.
See the online list of 150th anniversary events, or pick up the Events Flyer at the Chamber of Commerce and at various locations around Southampton.
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