The Canadian Baker's Web Site


FAMILY PHOTOS - 1	Greetings from Keith, Kate and Emily! About Canada	Emily watches a large transport ship from Lake Huron approach the Bluewater Bridge at the entrance to the St. Clair River between Point Edward, Ontario, Canada and Port Huron, Michigan, USA. Photo by Keith (a.k.a. "Dad")
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The Canadian Bakers live about 100 Kilometers northeast of the large US city of Detroit in Corunna, Ontario Canada. Corunna is a small community of about 2000 people located on the St. Clair River about 10 Kilometers south of city of Sarnia, Ontario, and just opposite the US city of Port Huron, Michigan. Besides forming the border between the USA and Canada in the area, the St. Clair River also connects Lake Huron with Lake Erie, forming one of the busiest inland waterways on Earth.

A little known historical fact about our town is that Corunna almost became the capital of Canada! In 1823, Lord Hicks surveyed the town site of Corunna, naming it after the Battle of Corunna in Spain. He chose to name the site after the town La Coruña in Spain because he had spent considerable time there during the Napoleonic Wars. The town's (almost) claim to fame owes itself to another of the British commanders in that battle, William Carr Beresford, who was also present at the Battle of Corunna.

Beresford was later sent on a mission to find a suitable capital for a future union between the colonies of Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec). Corunna was seriously considered, but ultimately not chosen, as it was seen as being too close (less than two miles across the St. Clair River) to the American border for comfort. It is important to remember that, back in the 1820s and 1830s, the prospect of a raid from the nearby United States was still considered a very serious threat to the British colonies.

Today, a small stone monument stands along Baird Street, near the CSX north-south train track (less than a block from our home) that divides the town. The monument marks the spot where Beresford's survey crews planned to build St. George's Square, the area that was to eventually house Canada's new Parliament Buildings. However, and as we all know, that honour ultimately went to the Canadian city of Ottawa.