Pontypool's Jewish and Train Related Past

2/26/2017

Hey guys. Near my ski resort we drove around and found old railroad tracks and we decided to look up some of the history of the place. It's called Pontypool and we discovered its train related past.

More than a hundred years ago a man named Moishe bought 200 acres of land by a lake in Pontypool, Ontario. Jewish people back then were not allowed on the beaches in Toronto so they came up to Pontypool and begged Moishe to let them stay and swim in his lake. They didn't care if they had to sleep in his barn, they just wanted to get away from the city. Then after a couple of years of this Moishe bought 150 more acres of land and started building cottages on that land. When Moishe died his son took over and built more cottages and this was getting really popular, so passenger trains, on the CP tracks, took Jewish people to the resort and back - at least twice a day in the summers.
I thought this was cool and I wanted to share it with you. Until next time...

6 Comments

Andrew Ferguson

3/12/2017 06:26:05 pm

I've read your blog since you started it, and it's always been interesting. Your post was a short trip down memory lane for me. I grew up in Enniskillen, south of Burketon, which was the next eastbound stop from Pontypool on the line. I also remember listening for the commuter train from Toronto to Havelock in the evenings after school, and freight trains too. Canadian Pacific also used to run ski trains to Dagmar, which is another stop on the line. Keep up the good work on your blog and happy railroading!

Nathan O'Neill

3/15/2017 04:48:12 am

Hi Andrew, thank you for reading my blog. I hope to do more research on Pontypool. Your comment inspired me to read more about the area and hopefully drive around it more with my parents. Thanks. Nathan

Tammy Mayer

7/7/2017 12:54:47 pm

Nathan, isn't it incredibly sad to learn Jewish people weren't allowed on the beaches?! It's shocking to me. Thank God it's illegal to do something like that these days. I'm enjoying your blog & am going to tell my nephew, who loves trains similar to you, to check it out!

Nathan link

12/7/2017 01:53:34 pm

Hi Tammy,
Thank you for reading my blog. I hope your nephew likes it too. I think it is sad that they weren't allowed on beaches. We've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. Tell your nephew I say hello!

Linda Perkins

12/7/2017 11:07:19 am

Checking out your website as it's been awhile since I looked at it and wonder if you are still going to keep it going.
I don't recall how I ever heard about it, but found it interesting to see your posts and bookmarked it ... going over my bookmarks today and thought I would give you a shout!

Nathan link

12/7/2017 01:54:50 pm

Hi Linda,
Thanks for your email! It's funny you emailed just today. I spent the weekend looking at trains and I just posted a new blog post right now. I hope you have time to read it and that you enjoy it. Thank you for reading and happy holidays!

About Nathan

Nathan is a 13 year-old boy who loves ALL trains. Especially freight trains. And especially CP Rail.
This is a blog about his journey to discover more about the trains he loves.

A BOY WHO LOVES TRAINS