Plaque Location
The District of Nipissing
The City of North Bay
At 195 Regina Street, in front of the The Ontario
Northland Railway's 1908 building, North Bay
Plaque Text
In 1900 the Ontario Government
ordered a survey for a railway from North Bay to the
head of Lake Timiskaming to encourage settlement and
provide access to mineral deposits. Construction of the
Timiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway began in 1902,
and the following year silver and cobalt were discovered
in what was to become the Cobalt mining field. By 1908
the main line had reached the site of Cochrane, and
branch lines were built to other new mining areas.
Between 1928-32 the railway was extended to Moosonee on
James Bay. Renamed the The Ontario Northland Railway in
1940, this provincially-owned line was primarily
responsible for the development of northeastern Ontario.
