to meet the requirements for incorporation. The town petitioned the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the elective officials passed an exceptional Act of Incorporation on July 24, 1858 to allow the community to be considered for the county seat. Despite their efforts, Walkerton eventually won the battle. In the mid-1800s, John Denny built a dam, a grist mill, a sawmill, a woolen mill and an inn on the Saugeen River. (Only the latter building remains at 484 Carlisle Street; the current dam was built in the 1970s.) The Chantry Island Lightstation Tower was completed in April 1859, first lit on April 1, with Duncan McGregor Lambert as the first keeper. (The tower and the keeper's home have been extensively renovated and are open for tours, several days a week late May to mid-September, operated only by the Marine Heritage Society. Otherwise, access to the island is prohibited because it is a federal bird sanctuary.) Records from 1869 indicate that the population had increased to 600. Large amounts of wheat, pork and lumber were being shipped from the village. A bank agency was operating. Good roads were available to other communities. A steam ship made runs to Goderich and Collingwood in summer; stagecoaches operated in winter. Southampton was incorporated as a town in 1904; at the time, its population was over 2400. The economic base included commercial fishing, warehousing, furniture factories, a tannery and mills. The town built a hospital in 1947, a post office in 1952, a library in 1956, an arena in 1961 (replaced in 1977) and a new firehall in 1974. In the early 2000s, a historically significant shipwreck was discovered on the beach. Relics of the ship, "General Hunter", can be found in the Bruce County Museum. Railway history The history of Southampton is intertwined with the history of the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway (WG&B). The original 1856 charter for what was then known as the Canada North-West Railway called for a line "... from Southampton on Lake Huron to Toronto on Lake Ontario with branch to Owen Sound[.]" The railway was intended to both serve the local area and to provide a through route to the west via the Great Lakes steamer trade. It remained a paper railway for several years, and in 1864 was rechartered as the Wellington, Grey and Bruce, with a key provision allowing it to be taken over by the Great