Ponsonby, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Ponsonby is a ghost town
in Ontario
, Canada
. It was situated along the Garafraxa Settlement Road (which led from Hamilton
to Owen Sound via Guelph
) to an area known as the Queen's Bush
. This settlement road was another government plan to bring settlers to the area with an offer of 50 acres (202,000 m²). The name Garafraxa is said to be a corruption of the word Sassafrax, a shrub that grew in the district. Others believed it was from an Indian word meaning 'panther country'.
Charles Rankin surveyed the Garafraxa Road around 1840, however the road did not become well populated until the 1850s. Ponsonby was another of many small towns in which travellers could stop and rest for the night. The original name of the town was Thorpville, however it was changed in 1863 when James Halley took over the post office.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was situated along the Garafraxa Settlement Road (which led from Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
to Owen Sound via Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
) to an area known as the Queen's Bush
Queen's Bush
The Queen's Bush was the vast unsettled area between Waterloo County, Ontario and Lake Huron during the early 19th century.On January 1, 1850 the Queen's Bush was divided into counties, and the counties were divided into townships....
. This settlement road was another government plan to bring settlers to the area with an offer of 50 acres (202,000 m²). The name Garafraxa is said to be a corruption of the word Sassafrax, a shrub that grew in the district. Others believed it was from an Indian word meaning 'panther country'.
Charles Rankin surveyed the Garafraxa Road around 1840, however the road did not become well populated until the 1850s. Ponsonby was another of many small towns in which travellers could stop and rest for the night. The original name of the town was Thorpville, however it was changed in 1863 when James Halley took over the post office.
External links
- Ponsonby at Geographical Names of Canada