Port Lambton

 

Port Lambton is a quiet village today but it was once notorious for bootlegging and Saturday night dances.

 

The Settlement dates back to 1820 when Duncan MacDonald built a frame house.Two hotels were built and, before long, steamers from Detroit and Wallaceburg made regular stops.

 

But the community’s most colourful era came during the roaring twenties.Rumrunners made regular trips across the river to Michigan during prohibition, making a fortune.

 

According to local legend, it was not uncommon to see the infamous gangster Al Capone in various riverfront communities including Port Lambton and Sombra.

 

A great deal of the liquor came by rail from Montreal before being smuggled into the U.S. by boat during the dead of night.

 

From there, it made its way into “speakeasies” in New York, Chigaco and Detroit.

 

The work was profitable but dangerous, with several gun battles breaking out between the bootleggers and U.S. customs officials.

 

In one shootout a customs agent was killed.