 In the late 1840s, the Marmora Iron Works formed as a collection of iron mines in the area around Marmora, Ontario.This was only a few miles from the northern portions of the Trent River where they emptied into Rice Lake.A new plan to service the mines was brought up by W. W. Dean at the 1864 meeting, and in 1865 John Dumble was asked to examine the concept of selling the line to investors for hauling iron.