Southampton is a community on the shores of Lake Huron in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada and close to Port Elgin. It is located at the mouth of the Saugeen River. The size of the town is 6.44 square kilometres. The permanent population in 2016 was 3,678 but the summer population is higher, due to cottagers and campers spending vacation time in the area.Although the community still has its own post office, and road signs indicating the name Southampton, it is no longer an entity, per se. In 1998, Port Elgin, Southampton and Township of Saugeen, all along the shores of Lake Huron, were amalgamated to form the Town of Port Elgin-Saugeen-Southampton. On December 17, 1998, the Province renamed the community the Town of Saugeen Shores. The primary employment categories are agriculture, small business, tourism and the Bruce Power nuclear power station which is 40 kilometres away. Southampton is a bedroom community, a retirement destination, as well as a tourist destination.HistoryLong before settlers arrived to the area, Southampton was an important trading area, according to a historic plaque erected in town by the Government of Ontario, titled Fur Trading at Saugeen. "The Anishnabe lived by the mouth of the Saugeen River before Pierre Piché arrived in 1818 to begin fur trading in the region. By 1826, the Hudson's Bay Company established an outpost at Saguingue to compete with independent fur traders like Piché. From La Cloche, its main post on Lake Huron, the Hudson's Bay Company employed First Nations, Métis, French, and British fur traders who largely depended on Anishnabe hunters to supply deer, bear and marten skins. By 1832, the supply of premium furs was exhausted and the company closed its post. Although many Anishnabe gave up hunting and settled in an agricultural village, fur trading continued here until the mid-19th century when Southampton was founded."
