Mrs. Mathews, descendant of a pioneer Oakville family, traces the development of a typical Ontario lake port and pictures social life at the various stages of the town’s development. The history is complete, beginning with the earliest settlement and ending at a period in which Oakville has changed its character completely. It is based on wide research, begun out of genuine interest and curiosity, into a part of the province about which very little has been written. Mrs. Mathews has combed such primary sources as family papers, local newspapers, and archive documents.

She has given an intimate picture of the people, houses, and public buildings of Oakville, and of activities along "The Sixteen," The creek which has been so important in its life. But Mrs. Mathews does more than this. She places the development of the village and town in its proper setting in Ontario history, with the result that the reader learns not only about Oakville but about the social history of southern Ontario over a long period.