1927: The Formal Debut of a Highway in Ontario

July 2, 1927

The Ferguson Highway was formally dedicated in the province of Ontario, Canada. The public official presiding over this inauguration of the highway on a Saturday afternoon was William Finlayson (1876-1943), Ontario’s minister of lands and forests. The 260-mile (420-kilometer)-long gravel road, which stretched from the town of Cochrane to the city of North Bay, was built to link the ever-growing agricultural and mining areas in the northern part of the province with regions to the south. 

This highway encompassed several segments of rebuilt local roads and also coursed through the thick forest in the vicinity of the municipality of Temagami. Finlayson took time during the dedication ceremony to formally name the highway in honor of George Howard Ferguson (1870-1946), a longtime proponent of northern development who served as Ontario’s premier at the time.

The Ontario-based Expositor subsequently highlighted that part of the festivities. This newspaper reported, “The minister declared the idea of this name for the trunk road had emanated from Mayor Dan Barker [1876-1958] of North Bay and that it gave him great pleasure to bestow the title on the highway.” The Expositor further noted, “The suggestion was received with applause.”

The Ferguson Highway soon proved to be a vital access route to and from the north when it came to everything from commerce to tourism. In 1937, however, a major change occurred when this road became part of Highway 11.

Image Credit: Public Domain

Additional information on the opening of the Ferguson Highway is available at https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-expositor-road-link-north-with-old-o/102720269/