South Bruce is a rural municipality featuring the South Bruce Barn Quilt Tour, Hoity Toity Cellars vineyard tour and wine sampling, Essentially Lavender boutique and lavender field tour, Sea Buckthorn berry orchard, and the Carrick Tract Trail (best single track mountain biking in Bruce County).
The three largest villages in South Bruce are Mildmay, Teeswater and Formosa.
Mildmay
The town of Mildmay retains some of its historical roots. Originally known as Mernersville, the village had its origins in 1867 when Samuel Merner surveyed a town plot. When a post office was opened, it took the name Mildmay after Mildmay Park in London, England.
Today, Mildmay holds a fall fair in September. The “Hanging of the Green” festival and lighted night parade ushers in the Christmas season. Mildmay’s Rotary Park contains two kilometres of winding trail next to Otter Creek.
Teeswater
Known as “Tractor Town,” Teeswater has strong agricultural roots and is home to Gay Lea Foods Co-operative and the Ontario Goat Co-operative. The village features various tractor art pieces, such as a repurposed antique tractor hood and seats converted into a table with chairs. The main street showcases tractor banners, and the village is also home to the recently retired square dancing tractors!
Formosa
The hamlet of Formosa is known for its beautiful parks, historic church, a waterfall, the Formosa Springs Brewery, Saugeen Conservation’s main administrative office, the Formosa Inn, and the TNT General Store (1886).
Rev. Gaspar Matoga, a Jesuit missionary, visited the area in January 1853 to minister to the new settlements of the region. When he saw the valley, he described it as formosa, the Latin word for beautiful.
Formosa had a school as early as 1854 and there have been schools in one form or another on the present school grounds since 1868.
The early German settlers quickly established the Formosa Springs Brewery in 1870. Over the years, the brewery has changed ownership and names many times, and the plant has been renovated, expanded, and reconstructed.
