Swords is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

and former railway point in central

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, in the township of Seguin in the

District of Parry Sound 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 Distric ...

. As with

Seguin Falls Seguin Falls is a ghost town and unincorporated place on the Nipissing Colonization Road in the township of Seguin, Parry Sound District in northeastern Ontario, Canada. History The portion of the Nipissing Road at Seguin Falls was opened to wi ...

, Swords was a whistlestop along the Booth railway. When the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway came through with the railway, they built a small flag stop and siding and named it Maple Lake Station. The railway brought lumbering to the area and in 1894 the Ludgate Lumber Company bought large amounts of land and began cutting down trees. The company built a general store and three workers homes south of the tracks. In 1904 a school house was built for the children. In 1925 the name of the town was changed to Swords, after the Sword family who live around that area, to avoid confusion with another Maple Lake Station. The Swords were responsible for operating many of the businesses in the area and the Swords were voted to have the town named after them. One such business was the Maple Lake Hotel, owned by John and Annie Sword. Annie would stop and inspect the boots of the lumbermen to ensure that they didn't have hobnails, making them likely to scuff the hotel floor. In this case she would place a shingle over the hobnails, rendering the boots safe. The hotel stood until the late 60's or early 70's. A store still stands there to this day but has suffered several break-ins and is in a general state of disrepair.

References

External links

Ontario Abandoned Places - Swords

Muskoka Blog - The Ghost Town of Swords, Ontario (Muskoka)

ParrySound.com - Magical memories in Swords general store
Ghost towns in Ontario Communities in Parry Sound District {{Canada-ghost-town-stub