The Pigeon River Road

Photo by Thomas William Kirkbride - March 12, 2006

Plaque Location

The District of Thunder Bay
The City of Thunder Bay
On Highway 61, 6 km west of the Kaministiquia River Bridge

Plaque Text

This road was constructed to facilitate the transportation of mail between Thunder Bay and Duluth during the winter months when navigation was closed on Lake Superior. Demands for a reliable year-round mail service arose with the development of the Silver Islet Mine in 1870. A temporary mail trail was opened in 1872 before a 38-mile winter road was constructed from Fort William to the Pigeon River by John Carroll in 1873-74. The poorly built road was used by mail carriers until the completion of the C.P.R. to Thunder Bay in 1882. As the area traversed by the road remained sparsely settled, it was little used and much of it was abandoned when the International, or "Scott", Highway (later No. 61) was constructed in 1913-17.