This postcard shows an example of the commercial fishing industry in Port Stanley.
The postmark on this card is November 9, 1911. This was one of the peak periods for the commercial fishing industry in Port Stanley.
Flat boxes of fish, packed in ice, are being loaded on a flat-bed car of the Southwest Traction Company for transportation to St. Thomas, and then to fish markets in Detroit, Buffalo and New York.
The predominant species of fish being caught in Lake Erie in 1911 was herring, also known as Lake Erie Ciscoes.
The building in the background is the Port Stanley town hall.
Built in 1877 at a cost of $1342, it served as a town hall for the next 51 years.
Other contemporary photographs show a cupola on the roof, and there has been much discussion among members of Heritage Port Stanley as to whether this ever contained a bell. In this photograph it is evident that the cupola at the front of the roof is empty.
The man in the bowler hat and long coat leaning on the fish boxes is believed to have been Nate Cornell, Reeve of Port Stanley.
