The opening of the Haliburton district to organized settlement in the early 1860s encouraged promoters to consider the construction of railway lines into the area and to regions further north. One of the few lines actually built was the Victoria Railway. Begun at Lindsay in 1874 under the direction of George Laidlaw, an experienced railway entrepreneur, the line was completed to Kinmount in 1877 and reached the newly-constructed station at Haliburton in 1878. Although the Victoria Railway never extended any further, it became an important regional timber and mineral carrier with a link to other systems at Lindsay. In the mid-1880s it was taken over by the Grand Trunk Railway and later became part of the Canadian National Railway system.

Location

At the railway station in Head Lake Park, York Street, Haliburton

Themes

• Industry and trade
• Transportation systems and communications