Brights Grove, Ontario

Infobox Settlement
name = Bright's Grove
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settlement_type = Neighbourhood of Sarnia
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Canada
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Ontario
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Lambton
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latd= 43
latm= 1
lats= 36.16
latNS= N
longd= 82
longm= 15
longs= 51.36
longEW= W
postal_code_type = Post Code
postal_code = N0N 1C0
area_code = 519
website =
footnotes = Brights Grove is a bedroom community in Sarnia, Lambton County, Ontario, Canada,on the shore of Lake Huron. It is the childhood home of golf pro Mike Weir, winner of the 2003 Masters.

The Owenite Project

Brights Grove was site of one of the first Socialist formations in Canada. In 1829, Brights Grove was established along the model of Robert Owen's New Lanark, Scotland project by Henry Jones (1776-1852). The colony was named 'Maxwell' and was a short-lived project. However, it has been argued by Canadian socialist historian Ian McKay that " [t] he builders of the short-lived colony named Maxwell that Jones planted near Sarnia may well have been the first people in North America to call themselves 'socialists'."

Big Band Era

Brights Grove hosted many top performers at the Kenwick dance hall. The structure was destroyed by fire and is now a basketball court on the lakefront. Top performers that appeared at this venue included Alice Cooper.

In the late 1940s, Kenwick-on-the-Lake was open air in the round. The venue served as a Saturday Night destination for passengers of the SS Naronic that stopped at Sarnia on its trip around the Great Lakes from Toronto. The bands I remember were the likes of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton, who gave me a personal lesson on the xylophone in the afternoon warm-up session that locals would go into.

Salmon fishery

Brights Grove has two creeks that attract salmon during the spring fishery. Cow Creek and Perch Creek. The Bluewater Anglers in Sarnia stock salmon, rainbow trout, and brown trout into Lake Huron.

Famous people

* golf professional Mike Weir.
* Poet Paul Vermeersch

Lake Huron Waterfront Walking Trails

There are five miles (8 km) of lakefront walking trails, half is on rural road and other on dedicated bike/walk path.

Abandoned Rail Line Trail

Brights Grove is located halfway on a 25 km nature trail from Sarnia to Camlachie. Good rail path, cross numerous creeks, well maintained. You can do a loop of rail path and lakefront around Brights Grove that would be 20 km or more.

References

* McKay, Ian. Rebels, Reds and Radicals: Rethinking Canada's Left History. Toronto: Between the Lines, 2005.