Seguin Falls is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

and unincorporated place on the Nipissing Colonization Road in the township of Seguin,

Parry Sound District Parry Sound District is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its boundaries are District of Muskoka to the south, the Sudbury District to the north-northwest, the French River and Lake Nipissing in the north, Nipissing Distri ...

northeastern Ontario Northeastern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, which lies north of Lake Huron and east of Lake Superior. Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timisk ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

History

The portion of the Nipissing Road at Seguin Falls was opened to winter traffic by 1873 and passable to wheeled vehicles by 1875, and became the main route of travel between

Lake Rosseau Lake Rosseau is located in Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The south end of the lake is in the Township of Muskoka Lakes, and the north end is in Seguin Township. The lake is surrounded by many cottages, some dating back to the late ...

and

Lake Nipissing Lake Nipissing (; , ) is a lake in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It has a surface area of , a mean elevation of above sea level, and is located between the Ottawa River and Georgian Bay. Lake Nipissing i ...

and points in between. The Nipissing Road lost its importance following the completion of the railway between Gravenhurst and

Callander Callander (; ) is a small town in the council area of Stirling (district), Stirling in Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the historic county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands. De ...

in 1886, and most of this section of the colonization road fell into a state of disrepair. The village of

Magnetawan Magnetawan is a township in the Almaguin Highlands region of the Parry Sound District in the Canadian province of Ontario. The Township of Magnetawan was formed in 1998 through the amalgamation of the former Township of Chapman and the former V ...

was, by this time, more easily accessed from

Burk's Falls Burk's Falls is an incorporated village in the Almaguin Highlands region of Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada, located north of Toronto and south of North Bay, Ontario. The village, and the waterfall on the site, were named (for himself) by ...

. It was not until a decade later that Seguin Falls developed as a village. During construction of the

Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway The Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway, or OA&PS, is a historic railway that operated in central and eastern Ontario, Canada, from 1897 to 1959. It was for a time the busiest railway route in Canada,"Track and Tower" brochure, Friends of Al ...

, completed in 1896, a station was established where the line crossed the Nipissing Road. The importance of that portion of the former colonization road was restored as an access point from Seguin Falls to Magnetawan and remains as an active route for automobile traffic, to this day. Lumbering was likely carried on near Seguin Falls during the pre railway era with the construction of dams to regulate water levels, timber was driven down the

Seguin River The Seguin River is a river in Parry Sound District in central Ontario, Canada that empties into Parry Sound on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron at the town of Parry Sound. The river's name comes from the Ojibwe word ''ziigwan'', meaning "spring". Cour ...

more than 35 years before the building of the Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway. Timber usually became easier to access with the construction of a railway and it is possible that some uncut sawlogs were carried away by the trains to be processed elsewhere. The last

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

at Seguin Falls during the railway era was John Campbell & Sons', wound up during the summer of 1926. At that time J. D. Campbell was busy putting up a new mill on the CNR west of

Capreol Capreol ( ) is a community in the Ontario city of Greater Sudbury. Situated on the Vermilion River (35 mins north of the downtown core), Capreol is the city's northernmost populated area. From 1918 to 2000, Capreol existed as an independent to ...

. The King George Hotel, located about 100 yards from the railway station, was owned and operated by Thomas and Mary Jane McKinnon until 1957. In 1952 the rate for one of the six rooms (without bath) was $3.00 US. The King George was converted to a private home which subsequently burned down in 1989. The stone foundation, hearth and chimney still remain. The OA&PS Railway through Seguin Falls, locally known as the Grand Trunk was taken over by the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

in 1904, which was subsequently absorbed by

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

s in 1923. That portion of the line between Falding and Scotia was abandoned in 1955. The old railway bed, now the Seguin Trail, is also part of the

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...

References

External links

Ontario Ghost Towns - Seguin Falls
Ghost towns in Northern Ontario Communities in Parry Sound District {{Canada-ghost-town-stub