How a nineteenth-century railway bet transformed a small Ontario town into a film set
In short: Port Perry was once a minor settlement locked in a bitter rivalry with neighboring Prince Albert. When local businessman Peter Perry gambled on the railway over the established planked toll road, he effectively drained his competitor of commerce, securing Port Perry’s future as a thriving hub and modern cinematic backdrop.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the area surrounding Lake Scugog was defined by intense competition between Port Perry, Prince Albert, and Manchester. Prince Albert held the advantage as a major grain trading center, sitting on a planked toll road that connected the region to Whitby. However, Peter Perry, who had laid out village lots on the site of a former native village in 1848, envisioned a different path. He famously predicted that the grass would eventually grow over the main street of Prince Albert, betting that the future of trade lay in rail transport rather than road networks.
That prediction materialized in 1872 when the Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway reached the town. The arrival of the train, followed by the construction of a grain elevator in 1873—which remains Canada’s oldest existing grain elevator—shifted the economic gravity of the region. As businesses migrated to Port Perry to capitalize on the rail connection to Lake Ontario, Prince Albert faded into a suburb. Today, the town’s Victorian-era downtown and industrial heritage have made it a magnet for film crews, standing in for fictional locations in productions like Welcome to Mooseport, Reacher, and the 1996 film Fly Away Home, which was inspired by local inventor Bill Lishman.
Beyond its cinematic appeal, Port Perry serves as the administrative center for the Township of Scugog, which was formed in 1974. The community maintains a distinct identity, balancing its role as a hub for surrounding rural areas with a vibrant tourist economy. From the Great Blue Heron Charitable Casino to the annual Labour Day fair, the town has evolved from a nineteenth-century rail terminus into a multifaceted destination that preserves its history while hosting modern cultural events and seasonal activities on Lake Scugog.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Port Perry
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