The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway was completed in 1854 and crossed Rice Lake from Harwood to Hiawatha on a 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) line of wooden trestles.
However, the thick layers of ice that cover the lake in the winter damaged the bridge beyond repair and it was declared unsafe and closed within six years.
Sections of the railway bed are still clearly visible on the south side of the lake.
In the late 19th century, both before and after the railway bridge, steamboats provided both passenger and goods services, which could navigate up the Otonabee River as far as Peterborough.
The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway was completed in 1854 and crossed Rice Lake from Harwood to Hiawatha on a 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) line of wooden trestles. However, the thick layers of ice that cover the lake in the winter damaged the bridge beyond repair and it was declared unsafe and closed within six years. Sections of the railway bed are still clearly visible on the south side of the lake. In the late 19th century, both before and after the railway bridge, steamboats provided both passenger and goods services, which could navigate up the Otonabee River as far as Peterborough.
Rice Lake (Ontario)