 This was the first time anything other than a <unk> or other oar @-@ powered vessel had sailed into Lake Huron , and La Salle 's voyage was thus <unk> in the development of commercial shipping on the Great Lakes . Located in the natural harbour , the Sarnia port remains an important centre for lake <unk> and <unk> ships carrying cargoes of grain and petroleum products . The natural port and the salt <unk> that exist in the surrounding areas , together with the oil discovered in nearby Oil Springs in 1858 led to the massive growth of the petroleum industry in this area . Because Oil Springs was the first place in Canada and North America to drill commercially for oil , the knowledge that was acquired there led to oil <unk> from Sarnia travelling the world teaching other nations how to drill for oil . 
