Sixth Line

River Oaks Community
While the River Oaks Community had been envisioned as early as 1969, local sentiment was to go slow on development. But most farmers had already sold their land to developers. They were leasing back their old properties until rezoning occurred.  Developers went to the Ontario Municipal Board to force the issue. In 1978, the Board imposed a development plan for River Oaks. This forced the Town to rush through a detailed "secondary" plan.  Despite the rush, the Town succeeded in gaining acceptance for a new policy preserving setbacks of land at the tops of creeks. This allowed for more environmentally-friendly design, a new trend at that time. Other late 20th Century urban planning concepts represented locally include co-op housing and New Urbanism.

Munn's Church
Munn's United Church is one of the last vestiges of the heyday of Dundas Street as a stagecoach route between York (Toronto) and the Niagara Peninsula.  The junction of Sixth Line and Dundas became known as Munn's Corners shortly after 1808, when Daniel Munn began farming the southeast corner. By 1814, he was running the highway's first tavern. By 1823, he was hosting meetings of a Methodist congregation in his home.  In 1842, his son Jordon deeded land on the northeast corner for a school and a church. Two years later, a wood frame church was built. This stood until 1898, when it was torn down and the present brick structure was built on the original fieldstone foundation.

King's Castle
King's Castle, the first private Oakville residence designated historic, has had a past as colourful as its builder's.  MacKenzie King (1811-1879) was orphaned early and left in the care of his uncle, Oakville founder William Chisholm. King sailed the world, survived shipwrecks, struck gold and returned home to marry his sweetheart and build his castle. Both dreams came to naught. He married his housekeeper and, although he did build in 1858, he was forced to sell a year later. He briefly published a reform newspaper, The Oakville Advertiser.  His home went through many owners and uses, ranging from pony farm to factory. Finally, in 1973, Lawrence Weeks and his wife bought the home and restored it to its original Gothic Villa style.

Legacy of a Hurricane
On Friday, October 15, 1954, Oakville was one of many communities hit by Hurricane Hazel. Winds reached 115 km per hour. Water levels under bridges rose to 5.5 metres. Sixth Line was impassable. The approaches to the Upper Middle Road bridge were washed out. Private property damage was extensive.  The hurricane highlighted a long-standing flooding problem in the Wedgewood and Morrison Creek areas south of the Iroquois Ridge, which runs just north of the Queen Elizabeth Way. The creeks ran in shallow areas behind homes. They easily overflowed their banks.  In 1965, a plan was devised to divert storm waters by a channel to the Sixteen. This called for the expropriation of privately-owned residential land west of Sixth Line. After two years of legal wrangling and two years of construction, the diversion system finally opened in 1969.