The Toronto, Simcoe and Muskoka Junction Railway was built through the area in 1871. Its route was roughly parallel to the lakeshore, passing through Shanty Bay, Oro Station, and Hawkestone. An extensive station complex evolved at Hawkestone, with a freight shed, stockyards and a massive water tower to supply the requirements of the steam locomotives. The railway was incorporated as a company in 1869 as an extension connecting the Northern Railway of Canada to the Muskoka region and Lake Muskoka, and eventually reached Gravenhurst in 1875. However, financial problems led to increasing integration and eventual merger under the Northern Railway of Canada, which itself went through numerous mergers, becoming part of the Grand Trunk and, later, the Canadian National Railways. In the Canadian National (CN) system, the line through Oro was a part of the Newmarket Subdivision. The section of the line through the township was abandoned in 1996.
