A reconstruction of the demography of a pioneer society as it changed forest and agricultural resources into an economic justification for building railways

Wood traces the various threads that went into creating a successful farming colony while documenting the sacrifice of the forest ecosystem to the demands of progress, progress that prepared the ground for the railway. Ontario was a going concern before the railway came - the railway simply streamlined the increasing trade with an international market that drew on Ontario for a multitude of farm products and a continuing output from the woods. Making Ontario provides a detailed focus on the theme of environmental modification at a time of great changes, liberally illustrated with analytical maps based on archival research.