Ludgate

History

At the turn of the century, the site at Ludgate was a mere timber depot, where great pine stands were cut and piled until the spring thaw. As the snow melted these huge piles of lumber loosened up and floated down the river to the Georgian Bay, and onward to their respective sawmills.

Never one to pass on an opportunity, the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) consequently arrived in 1908. Accordingly they quickly built a flag station to supply the surrounding lumber camps.

The community got its name from one of the timber contractors, James Ludgate, who harvested timber in the surrounding areas. Ludgate, who had a small mill in the McKellar area moved his operations to this little siding and station stop around 1917-18. He precipitated this move by the additional purchase of timbers in Mowat Township.

The company established a little sawmill village 2.8 kilometres (2 miles) south of Pakesley where the Canadian National Railway (CN) crosses the Key and Little Key River, east of Portage Lake. It was conveniently located near the intersection of the Canadian Pacific Railway and CN lines. James Ludgate was also the manager of the Schroeder Mill and Timber Co. operations in Ontario, who operated a large mill and town site in nearby Lost Channel.

Apart from the mill and spur line, the village included a blacksmith shop, cookery and office, that later became a store. Other mill facilities included a slab and sawdust disposal yard, a clerk’s cabin, flag station and foreman’s cabin. Residential facilities included Ludgate’s house, and eight dwellings for employees. One of these homes would later house a school. A store, which operated from 1927 to 54 was also home to the post office.

All things considered, the mill seemed to be a profitable operation. Yet by the late 1920’s Thompson sold out to Charles Harris. Despite that, operations in the mill continued for an unknown period of time. In 1925, Thompson sold 250 acres of farmland to David Mitchell. Mitchell in turn supplied the community with staples and supplies.

Today only three original structures remain; an office, one home and a bunkhouse. The structures lie on privately owned land which contains several newer and older buildings. You require permission to enter the former townsite.