Ghost Towns of Ontario

Mike Filey, a Toronto historian, is author of Like No Other in the
World: A History of Toronto’s Skydome and co-author of Pantages
Theatre: Rebirth of a Landmark.

Some people look forward to their summer holidays; others look forward
to the yearly introduction of new cars. I look forward to the latest Ron
Brown book.

Over the past few years, Brown has written a selection of books that
are, as he himself described them, “encyclopedias” of towns and
settlements that no longer exist. In many cases, only the stories behind
the communities remain; there are no tangible remnants.

That’s where Brown’s latest book differs. Ghost Towns of Ontario
documents more than 100 of Ontario’s “ghost towns” in words and
photos. It also gives specific directions on where to find them and on
what elements of these long-lost communities await the explorer.

Of particular interest to anyone residing in a bustling metropolitan
area are the one-time dreams of pioneer developers that today are but
sagging, creaking structures at dusty country crossroads.

We learn that places like Tullamore and Grahamsville might have been
bustling suburbs of Toronto, and that workers in Hamilton might have
gone home to bedroom communities at Crooks Hollow or Mt. Healy.

For a variety of reasons, it was not to be. However, thanks to Brown
and his books, those dreams will live forever at least in pictures and
prose.