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6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, October 1, 1991 125th ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE Train brings prosperity From page 5 Scugog Island $2,500. But the greatest amount, $400,000 had to be raised by selling stock in the PWPPR. Tenders were asked for and the building contract was awarded to Kestevan and Star- rat of Toronto who agreed to take $40,000 in stock. For some reason, the direc- tors failed to sell much stock. Whether this was a result of poor effort on the directors' part or the public's lack of confidence in the project is a matter for con- jecture. But funds were not raised and Kestevan and Star- rat were forced to stop work and sue the company to try to get paid for the completed work. heir case was delayed so they declared bankruptcy. Spurred on by this failure, the directors made a concerted effort to raise enthusiasm and much needed investment. They succeeded in raising enough capital to justify the search for a new contractor. J.H. Dumble of Cobourg agreed to complete the project and equip the railroad for $350,000. Work began on Sept. 15, 1869. With beljer pnancing in place, spurred on by growth o Port Perry, the directors were convinced that their effort this time would lead to the comple- tion of the railway. They decided to have a spectacular gala open- ing (actually a re-opening) of the project. His Royal Highness Prince Arthur (Queen Victoria's son} was invited to turn the "first" sod. He agreed. The event proved to be be- yond the directors' expectations. One hundred horse drawn car- riages of officials led the parade in Whitby. Sir John A Macdon- ald, the Governor General and the railway president Joseph Bigelow, witnessed Prince Ar- thur turn the "first" sod on Octo- ber 6, 1869. Even the school chil- dren were given a holiday to commemorate the event. The public, caught up in the spirit of the event, invested and the project seemed assured of success. Trouble But all was not well. Direc- tors James Holden and Dr. Gunn began to hear of secret meetings and illegal transac- tions. (They had voted against hiring Mr. Dumble as the rail- road builder}. Mr. Dumble had been issued false certificates of performance and had submitted inflated subcontract agree- ments. President Joseph Bige- low was directly implicated since he had signed the certifi- cates of performance without the approval of the other direc- tors. Mr. Bigelow, as a supplier to Mr. Dumble had been paid unreasonable sums for sup- 'plies, again without the approv- al of the directors. Mr. Bigelow was not alone in these illegal operations. The Ontario Ob- server, a newspaper published in Prince Albert listed many items of discrepancies involv- ing Mr. Bigelow and Mr. Pax- ton It is no wonder that Bige- low's account of the railway is a very brief one in his article "Port Perry Past and Present" which appeared as the entire front page of the North Ontario Observer of Feb. 22, 1906. The account of the controversial building and financing of the railroad and his involvement in it is dismissed in a vague and somewhat misleading para- graph. "in 1870, the building of the Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway was commenced of which Mr. Bigelow was presi- dent during his construc- tion...Mr. Bigelow, after the completion of the railway, sold out his interest and withdrew from the company." In truth the building was begun in 1868, restarted in 1869 followed by the auspicious official sod turning in Septem- ber 1869 and Mr. Bigelow, among others, was forced out of the company in1873. Some Success Mr. Dumble sold his inter- est in the railway to a new con- tractor a Mr. English, who, as- PORT PERRY MILLS, THOMAS PAXTON & Co, UMBER MERCHANTS AND DEALERS IN BOARD AND BUNDLE LATHS, Plckets, etc., etc. PORT, PERRY, August, 18C8. ) ALBO SEVERAL FIRST CLASS FARMS FOR SALE With Improvements, in the following Townships, viz. WHITBY, CARTWRIGHT, REACH, SCUGOG, MARIPOSA, and SEVERAL LOTS of Wild Land fa Mara and Rama; also a number of Village Lots in the Village of Port Perry, WITH AND WITHOUT BUILDIXGS, All of which will be sold on reasonable terms. T. PAXTON, & Co. 1-tf. Eel These two photographs of the railway and waterfront of Port Perry were discovered by Mr. William Brock when renovating to Port Perry his Queen Street store in 1988. The above photo shows the early station buildings with the feed mill in the immediate background and the lumber mill in the distance. § JT Steam paddle wheeler "Victoria" in the Port Perry harbour. The Victoria was purchased by the Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway to transport people and goods to and from Lind- say before the railway was extended to Lindsay in 1876. suming that the company was still solvent proceeded to bring in railroad workers to continue the work. After several weeks without pay, Mr. English had to sue the PWPPR for money. The directors appointed Edward Major to complete the work and finally the first train reached Port Perry on Novem- ber 15, 1871 and regular ser- vice beganin June 1872. But the trials and tribula- Hong of the PWPPR do not end ere. More Troubles By 1873 the railway, al- though running, was virtually bankrupt. The line was poorly constructed, workers had not been paid for months, loans were unpaid and no interest had been paid on debentures. The directors decided to sell the railroad. One of the directors, James Holden, convinced the Dominion Bank to purchase the company. Holden had personal- ly invested large sums in the railway and thought that he might A able to regain some of his investment which had Please turn to page 8 George Smith has been serving the legal needs of Port Perry for 18 years. Specializing in realty, business law, and estates, he operates from a building that dates back to 1890, with a good portion of the interior still in the original state. George Smith, Lawyer 226 Queen Street, Port Perry 985-8465 Ot ea a.