As Halloween creeps upon us, perhaps one way to get into the spirit is by visiting a ghost town. These towns aren’t actually filled with ghosts, they’re abandoned (or nearly abandoned) areas that still have visibly eerie remains of buildings and infrastructure (so still kind of creepy). As it turns out, there are quite a few deserted towns near Toronto that you can visit — so pack a lunch (since no restaurants will be operating in these settlements) and make it a day trip!
Here are nine must-see ghost towns near Toronto that you should visit:
Speyside, Halton Hills
This once-thriving settlement is now a relic of its former self. You can find the town’s remains in Halton Hills, Ont., at Regional Road 25 and 15 Sideroad, between Acton and Milton. According to the Esquesing Historical Society, this historic settlement experienced its heyday back in the mid-1800s — it had two hotels, a tannery, sawmills, a shingle mill, a few general stores, a blacksmith, a village hall, and even a stone quarry. By 1873, the population grew to 200, which led to the opening of the town’s first post office at the southeast corner of the small district. Shortly after, schoolhouse S.S. #10 Dufferin was constructed one mile south of the village, near St. Helena Rd.
A recent profile on the town notes that plans for streets and lots were once laid out, suggesting that there were plans to grow this bustling village (which, unfortunately, didn’t come to pass). Neighbouring communities offered more enticing prospects when it came to jobs and houses, so people began moving out. By 1908, the population dwindled to 40 residents. By 1914, the post office shut down. Today, all that remains commercially are remnants of the corner store and school (and few inhabit the area).
Cooper’s Falls, Simcoe County
This small lumber town had its heyday in the mid-to-late 19th century. In the 1860s, Thomas Cooper built the area’s first sawmill. Within a decade came a school, two churches, a general store, a blacksmith and even a cheese factory! Much of the town’s economic prowess came from lumber, so when supplies declined, the community dwindled.
The general store closed in the late 1960s, but you can still find its structure standing today, along with the abandoned blacksmith shop, two churches, and a few other ghostly relics. During your visit, make sure to check out the nearby Cooper’s Falls Hiking Trail, accessed on Cooper’s Falls Road along the Black River. Again, be respectful of private property, as the town has a population of about 14.
Dufferin Bridge, Magnetawan
This small town was once located along the Nipissing Road in Magnetawan, Ont., about a 3-hour drive from Toronto. In the late 1800s, it primarily acted as a small lumbering and stopping center, but it still contained a Methodist and Anglican church for Sunday services. A post office was soon built followed by the Dufferin Bridge Store in 1888. According to Ominous Abandoned Places, the town’s population dwindled when the railway service allowed easier access to more suitable farming land up north. By the early 20th century, the town was pretty much abandoned. Today the road has no full-time residents, although you’ll find remains of the Dufferin Methodist graveyard along the Nipissing Road.
Cheltenham Brickworks, Caledon
This abandoned site in Caledon, between Cheltenham and Terra Cotta, was once home to a thriving brickyard and village in the early 1900s. According to GhostTownPix, in 1914, the Interprovincial Brick Company built massive kilns that enabled the company to boost brick production. The company also built workers’ houses directly on-site (so a lot of the workers lived on-site because rent was cheap, and work was plenty). Unfortunately, by the 1950s, the village of Cheltenham was dying — it was only alive due to brick workers. In 1958, the brickworks were shut down and the houses were demolished. However, the giant kilns remain — although they’re fenced off and inaccessible, they’re a reminder of the area’s industrial history.
Armstrong Mills, Wellington County
This small mill town and hamlet in Wellington County, Ont., near Eramosa Township, was founded in the mid-1800s by the Armstrong family (who first arrived in the area in 1822). According to Rural Routes, in 1845, the family established the Speedside Congregational Church, and in 1856, the family constructed a successful mill. A school was added in 1863, and so, the community was aptly renamed Armstrong Mills! Although the mill was used until 1950, the community didn’t experience much growth. By the 20th century, much of the area was abandoned. Still, people appreciate the town’s history — in the 1960s, the abandoned mill was bought by Ken Danby, an acclaimed realist painter who restored the mill. It still stands today, as well as the remains of a few other early remnants of the town.
Whitevale, Pickering
This 19th-century mill hamlet is protected as a Heritage Conservation District, so streetscapes haven’t changed much in over a century. At dusk, stroll the scenic river-valley hamlet on West Duffins Creek and you’ll discover narrow, tree-lined streets with open views of eerily silent farm fields and the creek valley. Pause at the historic Whitevale Road Bridge. Its narrow profile and close edges make it feel sort of otherworldly in the evening hours, and you’ll have a perfect vantage point to take in the village core without stepping on private property. From here, you’ll spot wood-framed, close-set clapboard homes with centre-gable façades (they have such a vintage aura that you may feel as if you’ve stepped back in time).
Finish your trip at the Whitevale Cemetery. It dates back to the 1830s and sits just east of the village core on Whitevale Road. This rural burying ground served families from the hamlet and surrounding farms, and it sits exactly where the community first established it nearly two centuries ago! Keep in mind that Whitevale is a small, tight-knit community, so respect personal property. Click here for more info on visiting Whitevale.
Point Anne, Belleville
Head to Point Anne to explore the ruins of a once-booming cement company town on the Bay of Quinte. In the early 1900s, the hamlet was home to the Canada Portland Cement Company, which was the second-largest cement plant in Canada at the time. In its heyday, there were about 600 people living in this company village! The plant expanded throughout the 1930s-1950s, but closed in 1973 after Canada Cement was bought by Lafarge, and operations shifted to Bath. Many buildings were sold off, and the rest, including most of the plant, were demolished. The hamlet is now part of the City of Belleville.
Head over today and you can view scattered shoreline foundations and industrial remains from public roads (an especially ghostly view in the moonlight!). Remember that people still live in Point Anne (about 55 residents are served by the municipal water system), so be respectful of private property.
Blairton, Peterborough County
In the 1850s, Blairton was an iron-mining company town on the south shore of Crowe Lake. By the 1860s, the town had about 500 residents, roughly 40 company houses, two hotels, a few stores, a church, a school, a post office and several trades. It basically became a full-service village built around the open-pit mine and the Cobourg and Peterborough Railway! Alas, as the mine wound down in the 1870s, so did the population. Municipal services stuck around for a bit longer but eventually shut down too (the church and post office closed in 1929).
Today, many former lots are now private cottages or campgrounds, but the former mine manager’s house survives (it’s private property, so you’ll have to view from the public road only), along with a few derelict structures. Newer homes as well as a trailer park have been built, but the population remains far smaller than at Blairton’s mining peak. Blairton is about a 10-minute drive from Havelock.
Seguin Falls, Parry Sound District
This small town started as a tiny crossroad on the Nipissing Colonization Road, serving stagecoach travellers between Lake Rosseau and Lake Nipissing by 1875, and transitioned to a rail-side mill town with boarding houses and the King George Hotel by the late 1890s. Lumber powered the town for decades until the last big mill left in 1926. Another blow came in 1955 when Canadian National abandoned part of the Junction rail line between Falding and Scotia, shutting down Seguin Falls station.
Today, you can still find the old 1921 brick schoolhouse, the cemetery at the old townsite, and remnants of the King George Hotel (the building unfortunately burned in 1989). If you’re into hiking, the former rail bed is now the Seguin Trail, which now runs between Highway 400 and Highway 11.
