The mouth of the Bayfield River is a natural sheltered harbour and by 1869, the settlement was a port of entry and vessels touched here on their route from Detroit to Goderich. Stages travelled daily to Seaforth. In 1869, when the population was only 125, the settlement had a wagon and plough making shop, two blacksmiths, a distiller, a brickyard and two tanneries. A large, permanent harbour was built during the 1870s. By 1876, Bayfield was incorporated as a village, with a population of 846. In 1982, Bayfield was declared a heritage conservation district.