Heritage Goderich is an appointed committee of Council and therefore of the community as a whole. It acts in an advisory capacity to Council in order to identify, protect and promote the mechanisms that preserve the town’s historic assets for the benefit of all.

The Ontario Heritage Act 1974 gave municipalities the power to establish a Municipal Heritage Committee (formerly Local Architecture Conservation Advisory Committee) in order to achieve the above purpose. The Act was amended in 2002 and 2005 changing, among other things, the name of the committee and expanding its mandate to include: architectural heritage, cultural landscapes, natural heritage features and broader heritage planning issues both present and potential.

Past and present committees have recommended the formal heritage designation of districts, buildings and other local features under Parts IV and V of the Act. They have also identified other Goderich locations as significant heritage sites with the potential for designation.

Publications
To this end three booklets have been published under the titles:

The Heritage Buildings of Goderich, Volume One (1977); Volume Two; and Volume Three.

These booklets are available for borrowing from members of the committee or from the Goderich Library.

More Publications of Local Interest 
• The “Square” Goderich: A Heritage Conservation District Plan, c. 1977 by Nicholas Hill.
• West Street Goderich: Heritage Conservation District Plan, 1992 by Christopher Borgal Architects.
• Understanding Commercial Blocks in Goderich, 1999 by John Rutledge.
• 4 Heritage Walking Tours, Port of Goderich (See Designated Districts for a downloadable copy)
• Reflections of Our Past: A Narrative Tour of Goderich. Narrated by Dorothy Wallace. Ink drawings and layout by Lucinda Jerry, 1993.
• Postcard Views of Goderich, Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (now Heritage Goderich). Stan Brown Printers, Owen Sound, 1995.
• Memories of Goderich, Dorothy Wallace. 1977.
• Goderich: Link to the Past, William Barlow. The Print Shop, Collingwood, 2001
• The Canada Company and the Huron Tract, 1826-1853, Robert C. Lee. Natural Heritage Books, Toronto, 2004.
• Goderich: Tiger’s Legacy, Gordon Strathdee. Stonetown Books, St. Mary’s, 2000.
• Downtown Ontario, Unusual Main Streets to Explore, Ron Brown. Polar Bear Press, Toronto, 2003.
• Going to Town, Architectural Walking Tours in Southern Ontario, Katherine Ashenburg. Macfarlane, Walter & Ross, Toronto, 1996.
• The Old Log House and Bygone Days in our Villages, Gavin Hamilton Green. Signal-Star Press, Goderich, 1948.
• The Old Log School, Gavin Hamilton Green. 1939.
• A Century of Goderich, Victor Lauriston. Reprinted from Canadian Geographic, August 1932, vol.2.
• The Settlement of Huron County, James Scott. The Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1966.
• In the Days of the Canada Company, Robina and Kathleen MacFarlane Lizars. William Briggs, Toronto, 1896.
• Historic Streetscapes of Huron County, Nicholas Hill, 1981.
• The Tiger of Canada West, W.H. Graham. Clarke, Irwin & Co., Toronto, 1962.
• Early Huron Houses, Books One, Two, Three, W.E. Elliott, 1965.
• Double Trap, The Last Public Hanging in Canada, John Melady. Dundurn Press Toronto, 2005.
• The Canada Company and the Huron Tract, 1826-1853, Robert C. Lee. Natural Heritage Books, Toronto, 2004.

Buildings and districts may be given a legal heritage designation or just identified as having significant heritage value. Designation provides a greater degree of protection than does identification. Property owners or others may ask to have properties designated or HG may initiate the process.

Heritage Souvenirs Available to Purchase

Postcard Views of Goderich, a book showing many historical views of the town, available at Fincher's Books on The Square and the Tourist Information Booth, 91 Hamilton St.

Port of Goderich Throw (48" x 64") illustrating eight heritage locations, available at the Tourist Information Booth, 91 Hamilton St and Town Hall, 57 West St.