The Square

Construction Notice

For the 2026 tourism season, sections of the north half of the square will be closed to allow for necessary infrastructure updates. While driving access will be limited from mid spring to late fall, stores and sidewalks will remain open. Don’t let the noise scare you away from supporting local! Learn more about the Town of Goderich’s Rebuilding Downtown Infrastructure Project: 

The Square

Technically, an octagon, Goderich’s downtown iconic Square is a one-way traffic circle with boutique shops, restaurants, and services with the county courthouse at its centre.

Designed and developed between 1840 and the mid 1890s, the Courthouse Square was the home of the Canada Company’s main office, the founder of the Huron Tract. Its radial composition is attributed to John Galt and is inspired by ancient Roman city plans. Many believe that Goderich’s unique plans were intended for Guelph. Instead, the Canada Company in planning the town, hoped to call it Guelph in honour of the Royal Family. John Galt, the superintendent of the Company, prevailed in keeping the name Goderich. The Square was formally listed in the Register of Historic Place by the Government of Canada in May 2007. The original courthouse was destroyed in a fire and replaced by a modern structure in the 1950s.

On the afternoon of August 21, 2011, a F3 tornado touched down in Goderich after coming ashore as a waterspout. Moving up from the west side of town, the Goderich tornado is one of the strongest to strike Ontario since the Arthur event in 1996. 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. A Lucknow man, associated with the Goderich salt mine, was the sole person killed with 37 people injured. News reports later indicated that one hundred houses, 25 buildings and thousands of 150-plus-year-old trees were seriously damaged or destroyed.

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. 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 reopened with a new bandshell. 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.

Address: 1 Courthouse Square, Goderich, Ontario, N7A 1M3