Transportation and Communication

In Pioneers of Wharncliffe, 1882-1988 Claude Nelson Ansley states: "In those [early] days the big hill over the mountain north of the Tunnel bridge was always a great barrier for any kind of transportation, even walking. In 1924 the tote road from McKays halfway to Gould and the [Hoover] depot built by the lumber company in Gould was made passable by motor cars and trucks. This road changed the whole situation in Gould Township, and it became more attractive to prospective settlers. People came from Ontario, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Belgium and settled on land in the farming area of the township."

In 1932 one Gould resident began to run a mail route between Thessalon and Gould via Wharncliffe, a total distance of twenty two miles. During the summer season a light truck was used to deliver the mail. Roads were not plowed in the winter, so a horse and sleigh were used instead, and the mail route took two days to complete. In the late 1930's the roads to Thessalon were finally cleared regularly, and so the truck was used year-round for mail delivery. The man who did the delivering also did other services for the community, such as shopping for their groceries in Thessalon, or giving residents rides to the town so that they could do their errands.

Unlike the road to Thessalon, the road to Iron Bridge was kept open year-round for trucks hauling supplies to the northern lumber camps.

As in the rest of the Mississagi River Valley communities, when the phone line came it was a single party line that was shared by everyone in Hooverville. As with party lines everywhere, people commonly listened in on other peoples conversations. The Department of Lands and Forests was also on the line. This meant that use of the phone was limited in the summer in order to keep the line open in case someone had to call in a forest fire. In the late 1940's, Lands and Forests began to use battery operated telephones.

By 1940, the depot at Hooverville was not needed by the lumber company. All the staff who were working there left, save one. He remained there to look after the gate for the Department of Lands and Forests (now known as the Ministry of Natural Resources). All vehicles were registered when going in and coming out of the territory, and when fires occurred no unauthorized traffic went north.