Byng Inlet, Ontario
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Byng Inlet is a ghost town in Parry Sound District, Ontario. For a period in the nineteenth century it was home to the second largest sawmill operation in Canada. The name of the town came from that of the English Admiral John Byng. As the mill grew, so did the town's population. To accommodate the growing town, a bakery, theatre, hotel and post office were constructed.
The mill would continue to operate until it burned in 1912. It was rebuilt in 1917 under the name of Graves Lumber Company. It contained a mill, lumber yard, planning mill and boilers. Unfortunately, fire would strike once again in 1920. Approximately 450 people lived in the shanty houses and the 50 or so solid houses in the area. The mill employed some 1250 people, while the town's overall population was 4,200. When the railway was introduced in 1912, the Graves Lumber Company was able to ship out some 20,000 feet of lumber every other day.
In 1927, after the resources dried up and the mill closed, without any other form of industry to keep the population employed, most of the people left. The town currently retains a small permanent population, which is primarily due to the services of nearby Highway 69.
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