Feeling Closer to the City

Before the arrival of the railway, the only way to get to Pontiac was by horse or steamboat. There were several legs to a steamboat journey as passengers and goods had to change boats at every obstacle (rapids, waterfalls). In 1871, the trip from Waltham to Ottawa cost $ 5 and took two days.

The train drastically changed the way people travelled within the Pontiac. The journey was direct and didn’t take more than three hours. The train ticket cost $ 2.75 for passengers, and 50 cents for 100 pounds of goods.

In a few decades, the demographic in the Pontiac had undergone great changes. The villages that were located along the river gradually emptied in favour of those crossed by the railway. Thus, Portage-du-Fort, which was one of the most important steamboat stops, lost 400 inhabitants in 30 years, while Shawville and Fort-Coulonge increased their population by 300 and 600 respectively.