Shipping facility.

Details of Site Location: To the east of the foot of Port Union Road.

PDM: TBA

Boundary History: The wharf was surrounded by the lake on three sides.

Current Use of Property: None.

Historical Description: Port Union was, at one time, an actual port for shipping. It was so named because the road itself was the original dividing line between Scarborough and Pickering Townships (or where the two united). The wharf ceased to exist as the railway took away its business and cut it off from the mainland and roads. Today, the rocks that were once within the wooden cribs supporting the wharf may still be seen under the water some distance out from the shoreline; their visibility depends on the water levels and condition of the water. The wharf was built by William Helliwell, who arrived at Highland Creek in 1847 to begin farming, lumbering, and milling and eventually other businesses. At Highland Creek he found Cornell’s Landing, to which lake ships moved upstream to load the cargoes. He also learned that Thomas Adams of Port Union had built a ship in 1834, and that other ships, called the Highland Rangers, had been built on the beach. The Rangers carried legitimate cargoes by day and contraband by night. With partners Daniel Knowles and Will Hetherington, Helliwell formed the Scarborough, Markham and Pickering Wharf Company, which built a dock at the foot of Port Union Road (then called the Town Line) and extended it out into the lake some 250 feet. There was a storehouse on the shore where farmers could bring and store grain until a ship came in. The grain was then taken by wheelbarrow to the ship. A commercial fishery developed and used deep-sea techniques. Helliwell also built himself a cargo ship on the beach to benefit from the traffic at the wharf and shipping fees. When the railway pushed through along the shoreline, the dock was cut off, and shipping began to be transferred to the railway. The Wharf Company began losing money and closed down in 1895. That year, a severe storm wrecked the wharf and there seemed to be little point in rebuilding it.

Relative Importance: This wharf gave birth to the community of Port Union and helped it to grow, and was important to farmers in the area in getting their produce to larger markets.

Planning Implications: Today, the entire original community of Port Union has vanished. The last two houses were torn down in the last week of July 2000. The entire community, its wharf, railway station, and houses deserve commemoration in a park to be developed in new subdivisions spreading over the village site. The commemoration should be much more than a mere plaque.

Reference Sources:  John Spilsbury, Facts and Folklore (1998); Oral history interviews.

Acknowledgements:  John and Shirley Spilsbury; Bruce McCowan; Nellie Aldridge; K.P. Heath; Royce Murphy; Maps Project.