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Nearly one hundred years ago, commuters could catch a street car from Toronto to the south shores of Lake Simcoe sixty miles north. The “Radial” arrived in the tourist town of Georgina in 1909, a development opposed by many, but one that soon proved worthwhile.
The Radial provided convenient transportation for droves of visitors to the south shores of Lake Simcoe, long a popular tourist destination with hotels, cottages and boarding houses to accommodate visitors in the summer, railway and ice industry workers in the winter. The streetcar also provided expedient transportation for farmers moving freight and locals visiting the city.
Visitors to this Community Stories exhibit will see that the streetcar plays a prominent role in the history of transportation in Georgina Township, which now includes both the Town of Georgina and the Town of Sutton. When the tourism boom declined, the Radial made its last run in 1930. Today, an endless line of commuters snakes to and from Toronto daily. Is the electric railway the answer once again?
