Editing Goderich, Ontario (section)

===The Square===
[[File:The Square, Goderich, Ontario (1941).jpg|thumb|The Square, 1941]]
[[File:County Courthouse-The Square-Goderich-Ontario-HPC7450-20220901.jpg|thumb|The County Courthouse]]

Goderich's downtown has an octagonal [[roundabout]] known as 'The Square'. The county courthouse stands in the middle of The Square. This is where, in 1959, [[Steven Truscott]] was convicted of murdering Lynne Harper. The conviction was overturned in 2007.<ref>[[CBC.ca]], [http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/court-acquits-truscott-calling-conviction-miscarriage-of-justice-1.668524 Court acquits Truscott, calling conviction 'miscarriage of justice'], August 28, 2008</ref>

The Square was formally listed in the Register of Historic Place by the Government of Canada in May 2007. The Town had already recognized the value of the area in 1982, under the Ontario Heritage Act.

The Square was designed and developed between 1840 and the mid 1890s and in its early days, contained the main office of the [[Canada Company]] which helped to develop much of the county. The design of the square - a "radial composition" - is attributed to John Galt of the Company, inspired by ancient Roman city plans. Over the years it was called "Market Square", "The Square" or "Courthouse Square" by locals.  The original courthouse was located here but was destroyed in a fire and replaced by a modern structure in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=7450 |title=The Square |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2011 |website=Historic Places |publisher=Parks Canada |access-date=9 March 2017 |quote=Sources: Town of Goderich by-law 1982-02, 1993-26; The Square, Goderich: A Heritage Conservation District Plan (Nicholas Hill, 1977)}}</ref>

Contrary to a popularly held belief, plans for The Square were not intended for [[Guelph]]. It is thought this rumour started when Goderich was founded, as town planners the Canada Company originally wanted their community to be called Guelph after the Royal Family; the Company eventually resigned to accepting the decisions of Superintendent [[John Galt (novelist)|John Galt]] to keep the name Goderich.<ref>[http://www.goderich.ca/heritage/districts.html Heritage Goderich] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060202080710/http://www.goderich.ca/heritage/districts.html |date=February 2, 2006 }}</ref>
[[File:Hotel_Bedford.jpg|thumb|Hotel Bedford at Goderich downtown.]]

====2011 tornado====
[[File:Damage in Goderich after a tornado, August 2011.jpg|thumb|Felled trees and demolished buildings along a road in Goderich after the tornado.]]

{{Main|2011 Goderich, Ontario tornado}}

On the afternoon of 21 August 2011, an [[Fujita scale|F3]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Pope|first=Alexandra|title=F3 tornado aftermath in Goderich: Like a war zone|url=http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at201109.html|access-date=23 August 2011|newspaper=The Weather Network News|date=August 23, 2011|author2=Andrea Stockton}}</ref> tornado touched down in the area, after coming ashore as a [[waterspout]], with the [[mesocyclone]] [[thunderstorm]] cell moving across [[Lake Huron]]. It was the strongest tornado that had hit Ontario since [[Southern Ontario Tornadoes of 1996#Wellington & Dufferin County tornado|the Arthur, Ontario tornado of April 20, 1996]], though on average, F3 tornadoes occur in Ontario every eight years. The devastating storm downed power lines, tore roofs from houses, and left cars and trees scattered along city streets. Hundred-year-old trees surrounding the Goderich Courthouse were uprooted in seconds.  The tornado killed one person: Norman Laberge, 61, of [[Lucknow, Ontario|Lucknow]], who was working on a dock associated with a salt mine on the coast of Lake Huron when the storm hit.  37 people were injured. The Environment Canada weather forecast office in Toronto issued a tornado warning for Goderich and southern Huron County 12 minutes before the tornado struck.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario/goderich-residents-had-12-minutes-warning-before-tornado-struck/article2137119/ |location=Toronto |work=The Globe and Mail |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822171612/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario/goderich-residents-had-12-minutes-warning-before-tornado-struck/article2137119/ |title=Goderich residents had 12 minutes warning before tornado struck |archive-date=August 22, 2011 }}</ref> The town did not have a tornado siren unlike some other Ontario cities.

News reports later indicated that one hundred houses, 25 buildings and thousands of 150-plus-year-old trees were seriously damaged or destroyed.<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Joe |date=6 April 2012 |title=Goderich: The town Queen Elizabeth once described as the prettiest in Canada weathers on after devastating tornado |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/goderich-the-town-queen-elizabeth-once-described-as-the-prettiest-in-canada-weathers-on-after-devastating-tornado | work=National Post |location=Toronto |access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref>

==== Rebuilding The Square area ====
After the tornado, the roofs of several buildings around the square had been destroyed, and the trees in the green space around the courthouse had been damaged or uprooted.<ref>{{cite news |last=Miner |first=John |date=22 August 2011 |title=Tornado slams Goderich |url=http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/2011/08/22/tornado-slams-goderich |work=Sun Times |location=Owen Sound |access-date=9 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312051837/http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/2011/08/22/tornado-slams-goderich |archive-date=12 March 2017 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

A year later, 152 of the 170 downtown businesses had reopened but reconstruction of the courthouse, some historic buildings and the trees in the area took much longer.

By 2015, the park had re-opened with a new band shell. New trees, greenery, a statue and a water feature had been installed in front of the court house.
Much of the area around the park had been reconstructed including commercial building on Kingston Street and The Square. The last work to be completed was the Kingston block of commercial buildings on Kingston Street and The Square. Although the farmers' market and flea market had closed before the tornado, it re-opened.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northhuron.on.ca/goderich-s-downtown-gets-new-features-after-tornado-damage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312061834/http://www.northhuron.on.ca/goderich-s-downtown-gets-new-features-after-tornado-damage |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-03-12 |title=A whole new look - Goderich's downtown gets new features after tornado damage |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=April 2015 |website=North Huron |access-date=8 March 2017 }}</ref>