Welcome to the station...Port Lambton, Sombra, Courtright

Описание: Welcome to the Station
In this episode, we travel along the banks of the St. Clair River to explore the fascinating history of Port Lambton, Sombra, and Courtright, Ontario—three small communities with a surprisingly big story.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the arrival of the railroad transformed Lambton County. Rail lines connected farms, docks, and industries to markets across Canada and the United States. Stations became vital hubs where goods, people, and ideas moved through the region, linking these quiet river towns to the wider world.
But the railroad wasn’t the only highway of importance.
Running alongside the tracks is the St. Clair River, one of the busiest waterways in the Great Lakes system. For generations it served as a vital shipping corridor for grain, timber, oil, and manufactured goods. The combination of river access and rail transport made Port Lambton, Sombra, and Courtright strategic locations for trade and industry.
Then came Prohibition in the United States (1920–1933).
Almost overnight, the St. Clair River became a secret corridor for rum runners smuggling liquor into Michigan. Under cover of darkness, fast boats crossed the river from Canada to the United States. Crates of whiskey, rum, and beer moved quickly through hidden docks and quiet shorelines—sometimes finding their way onto nearby rail lines that carried goods inland.
For a brief moment in history, these peaceful river towns found themselves connected to one of the most daring and mysterious chapters of Great Lakes history.
Today, the trains may be quieter and the rum runners long gone, but the echoes of that past remain in the riverbanks, the rail beds, and the stories of Lambton County.
Join us as we explore the rails, the river, and the rum runners that helped shape Port Lambton, Sombra, and Courtright.
Thanks for stopping by… Welcome to the Station.

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