Oct 04 2020
October 2020 Before the motor vehicles and major highway systems, the railway was the fastest and most efficient way to transport people and goods across the country. In addition to the national railways, like Canadian National and Canadian Pacific, there were many smaller regional railways that criss-crossed the provinces and territories, connecting towns and villages …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/barrys-bay-railway-station-a-remnant-of-the-long-vanished-oaps-railway/
Sep 22 2020
September 2020 The small Village of Shanty Bay, north of Barrie, Ontario, has a historic church that is one of the few remaining structures in Ontario built of “rammed earth.” The “rammed earth” construction method involves mixing wet clay with chopped straw, compacted into forms and covered, when dry, with plaster or siding for durability …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-mud-church-of-shanty-bay/
Sep 20 2020
September 2020 In the years after World War I ended, cities, towns and villages across Canada erected cenotaphs to honour the men from their communities who died in the war. Most consisted of a carved square granite column listing the names of the dead, topped with a granite statue of a uniformed soldier. Some are …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/lest-we-forget-woodbridge-war-memorial-tower/
Sep 18 2020
September 2020 In the south-western Ontario city of Kitchener, a 62-foot tapered tower, built of rounded fieldstones from the surrounding area. This monument, on the shore of the Grand River, is dedicated to the Pennsylvania Dutch (Mennonite) immigrants who came to what was then Upper Canada. Travelling from New York State and Pennsylvania in the …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/waterloo-pioneer-memorial-tower-a-monument-to-the-pennsylvania-dutch-pioneers-of-waterloo-county/
Sep 15 2020
September 2020 In the Woolwich Township community of West Montrose, sits the last covered bridge in Ontario. Quite fittingly, the area is heavily populated by Old Order Mennonites, the black-garbed traditionalists, who drive their horse-drawn wagons and buggies across this bridge, just like their Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors did two centuries ago. Covered bridges were quite …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-west-montrose-covered-bridge-ontarios-last-remaining-covered-bridge/
Sep 14 2020
September 2020 In a time before power was supplied by electrical grids, grist mills were responsible for generating their own hydro to operate the mills. Sheave towers were an economical way to generate power from rivers by use of a water turbine underneath the tower. The last remaining wooden sheave tower in Ontario can be …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-blair-sheave-tower-ontarios-last-remaining-wooden-water-powered-hydro-generator-tower/
Sep 09 2020
September 2020 Of the many historic buildings in Hamilton, Ontario, Dundurn Castle is one of the best known. Dundurn Castle is an 18,000-square-foot, forty room Italianate-style villa, built over a three-year period and completed in 1835, as the home of Sir Allan Napier MacNab, 1st Baronet. MacNab was a lawyer, land owner, businessman, militia officer …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/dundurn-castle-hamiltons-own-historic-castle/
Sep 08 2020
September 2020 Motorsports has been a very popular attraction in North America and worldwide. Since the invention of automobile, people have wanted to race them at ever increasing speeds, along dedicated tracks and public roadways. The first recorded motor vehicle race, dubbed a “speed trial,” occurred in 1900, with racers travelling along a forty-mile long …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-motor-car-speedways-in-simcoe-county/
Sep 05 2020
September 2020 The northern Ontario city of North Bay has a long railroad history. In fact, it was the extension of the Canadian Pacific Railway lines into the north bay on Lake Nippising that led to incorporation of North Bay as a town in 1891. To celebrate this heritage, a railway heritage park was established, …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/heritage-trains-and-carousels-entertain-visitors-on-the-north-bay-waterfront/
Sep 02 2020
September 2020 The Niagara region of southern Ontario has many popular tourist attractions. For those interested in urban exploration, a popular attraction in the area is the “Blue Ghost” tunnel. Built beginning in 1875 by the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR), the 713 foot long tunnel was constructed to run underneath the then-new Welland Canal (now …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-merritton-blue-ghost-tunnel-a-relic-of-the-grand-trunk-railway/
