British surveyor who founded Bayfield, Ont. honoured with a statue

Like most people, Ruth Gibson, assumed Bayfield got its name because of its proximity to the pristine waters of Lake Huron.

“When I first moved here seven years ago, I thought there’s a nice bay here, there’s a lot of fields around and I think a lot of people think that it’s named after a nice bay and nice fields,” said Gibson, who is now Chair of the Bayfield Historical Society.

But, Bayfield is named after Henry Wolsey Bayfield. A British surveyor who at the age of 22, was tasked with mapping the shores of Canada’s Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway, and East Coast. It took him 24 years to do it, with a sextet and a rowboat.

“It was his maps that allowed ships to help with the early development of Canada,” said Doug Brown, a member of the Bayfield Historical Society.

It was also his recommendation to settle the plot of shoreline, now known as Bayfield that prompted Dutch settler Baron Von Tuyll, to name the community after him.

Ruth Gibson and Doug Brown of the Bayfield Historical Society standing in Admiral Bayfield Square by newly minted statue of Henry Wolsey Bayfield. July 2022. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
To mark that accomplishment, a statue donated by local artist Frank Moore, now sits in Admiral Bayfield Square, in the heart of the town that bears his name.

“We think he’s a largely unknown but important pioneer in the development of not only our town, but of Canada,” said Brown.

It will likely continue to be the shops, restaurants and small-town charm that brings people to Bayfield each summer, but now, Gibson and Brown believe there will be some valuable history on prominent display as well.

“The history of this town is very important. It’s important to the tourists who come and it’s important to the people who live here as well,” said Gibson.

Admiral Bayfield Square and Bayfield’s statue are located on Bayfield’s Main Street, tucked between the Bayfield Archives and Public Library.