Bronte, Ontario

Founded in 1834, Bronte began as a small fishing village at the mouth of Twelve Mile Creek. The name Bronte was chosen as a tribute to the British Naval hero, Horatio Nelson, who was made Duke of Bronte by King Ferdinand III of Sicily. Bronte's etymological root is the Greek word βροντή which means thunder.

Some of Bronte's original settlers were United Empire Loyalists and many of the streets were named for these founding fathers: Sovereign, Hixon, Nelson and Belyea.

One of the early industries in Bronte was stonehooking. Boats would gather stone slabs from shallow waters near the shore by hooking them from Lake Ontario for use in construction.^[1] The building at 49 Bronte Road built circa 1840 still remains as an example of construction using material stonehooked from the lake.^[2]

Its post office dates from 1851.^[3] Bronte's first harbour was completed in 1856.

In the 1920s, Middle Road was built with 3 interchanges including Service Road. Middle Road became part of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) in 1939.

In the mid-20th century, Cities Service built a refinery just south of the QEW, west of Bronte Road. The refinery was later acquired by BP and subsequently, Petro-Canada. Another refinery to the west was built by Shell with its entrance off Rebecca Street. The Shell Refinery ceased operations in the 1980s. The Petro-Canada refinery was decommissioned in 2009 and now is a bulk storage facility.

Streets in Bronte are numbered from east to west and lettered from A to L (or N?) from north to south. A housing boom started in the late 1950s south of the QEW. Starting in the late-1980s, housing developments began north of the QEW and westward towards Burlington.

In the 1960s, Highway 25 to Milton was redesignated from Guelph Line to Bronte Road. Later in the 1980s, an interchange for Burloak was added.^{[clarification needed]} This major arterial route is no longer an Ontario highway, but a regional road, called "The Veterans Highway."

In the 2000s, a new two-lane bridge was built to connect New Street at Mississaga Street and Rebecca Street at Bronte Road.

A community called Lakeshore Woods was built where the former Shell Research Centre was located. Construction began in the 2000s and is planned for completion by 2010.

In early March 2006, Stoneboats restaurant, which was partly located in one of Bronte's most historical buildings (built in circa 1840^[2]), suffered heavy fire damage and was rebuilt. A large portion of the historical part of the building was destroyed.

In April 2009, the Bronte Business Improvement Association and the owners of the Bronte Village Mall presented a proposal for revitalizing the mall which includes residential, office and retail space.^[4] The zoning was approved in 2012 following the resolution of a zoning dispute between the developer and the Town of Oakville at the Ontario Municipal Board.^[5] The mall was then redeveloped into 10- and 14-storey residential buildings with ground floor retail and a combined total of 480 luxury rental units, as well as a Rexall outlet.^[6]

The electoral district which Bronte is situated in is Oakville West, as of the 2025 Federal Election.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bronte, Ontario.

• Bronte BIA website - with news, Bronte area event calendar, history, business directory, virtual map, community listings

43°23′22″N 79°43′4″W / 43.38944°N 79.71778°W / 43.38944; -79.71778