Sodom Road

museum

Farmers on Sodom Rd., in Willoughby Township, over a century ago. Oval photograph of two farmers, one on a wagon, the other stood on the ground, two horses to the left of the wagon (unattached to it) and two cows which are attached via wippletree to the front of the wagon. There is an unknown building in the left background and trees fill in the remainder of the background. The muddy dirt Sodom Road is very thick and difficult to get through, this is evident in this photograph.
Image courtesy of the Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library, Farmers on Sodom Road., in Willoughby Township, over a century ago. The draught animals are harnessed to the cart using a Whippletree.

The History of Welland County, printed 1887, states that Sodom Road was first laid out as Concession Road 3 when Willoughby Township was first surveyed and mapped in 1787. Its northern end started at Chippawa at Lyon’s Creek Road and the southern end was at New Germany at the Willoughby-Bertie Town Line Road.

A “corduroy road” was made in the 1830's by laying logs across the path side-by-side and covered with dirt or stone to ease the passage of wagon wheels over this surface.

In 1853 there was an inn at each end of the Sodom Road; Willoughby Inn at the northern end and Ort’s Inn at the southern end.

The first written reference to the name Sodom for this road appeared in 1851 when Henry Ort applied for a license for his new tavern on the town line at New Germany - license dated December 28, 1851.

The Sodom Road was stoned about 1915 and concreted in 1929.

The Sodom Road was the only road that crossed the “tamarack swamp” by 1850.

The original Sodom Road did not have the curve at New Germany joining it to Stevensville Road at the present day 4-way stop.

Artefacts pertaining to Sodom Road from our collection.