Tweed, Ontario, Wednesday, December 16th,

"SCRAP BOOK SERIES"Establishment of Colonization

Roads For Upper Canada

Map showing the location of Colonization Roads in Upper Canada

The first areas opened to settlers were the section along the St. Law­rence River, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Because of the lack of roads, the areas of the inland townships were first settled along the rivers and lakes, which provided an open winter road, as well as water tran­sportation during the summer months.

Following the 1812-1814 War with

roads undertaken, and beginning at Farrell’s Landing on the Ottawa River, continued along the shores of the Madawaska River. The Peter­son road joined the Opeonga Road at the Opeonga Junction, and con­tinued west for a total of 101 1/4 miles to the Muskoka Falls in the township of Radcliff, where it in turn joined the Parry Sound Road, and continued on to Georgian Bay,

Warren N. Godfrey and Mrs. Godfrey

the United States, the Government of the day, rightly fearing invasion from its neighbour to the south, set about constructing the Rideau Canal ifrom Bytown to Kingston, which would permit the passage of boats from the Ottawa river to Lake On­tario, and thus avoiding the United States boundary along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence River.

Monument to the memory of the pioneers of Olden Township, stands silent guard over the Vil­lage of Mountain Grove, Ont. Warren Godfrey was the town­ship's first reeve, elected in 1862.

A series of roads, also linking the Otawa river with Georgian Bay, were begun in the early 1850’s. The Opeonga Road was one of the first

at a point near Gibson’s Mills. From this main road system, a series of roads were opened up, leading to the east and to the south.

These roads were frequently named for the men responsible for their construction, and thus we have the Addington Road, also called the Perry Road, and the Frontenac Road which was also know as the Godfrey Road, because the two roads were constructed under the direction of A. B. Perry and Warren N. Godfrey. Both men are of special

Polished granite tombstone, with its quaint inscription, marks the grave in the Mountain Grove Cemetery.

interest to the Tweed District, and the Land O’Lakes, because many of their descendents are still living in the area.

Mr. Godfrey died on February 28th 1881, and is buried in the Moun­tain Grove Cemetery, about a mile east of that village. After his death, the Federal Government erected a polished granite tombstone, which stands at the head of his grave. The inscription reads ■—

“In memory of Warren Godfrey, who died 28th Februray 1881, aged 81 years. He located and constructed the Godfrey (Frontenac) Road. Enough honour for the lifetime of any man.’’

The Tweed News will continue With the story of the Colonization Roads in the issue of January 6th, 1965, as a part of the current pro­gramme leading up to Canada’s Cen­tennial of Confederation, July 1st 1967.

TWEED, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2HH., tM5

"SCRAP BOOK SERIES"HISTORY OF THE MONCK ROAD

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internal communication road from the navigable waters of Lake Huron to those of the Ottawa, by which military stores and troops may be transported and deposited can hardly be over estimated, indeed it seems to have become in the present threat­ening emergency an indispensible in electing eligible points along the necessity. There will be no difficulty line for block houses and arsenal depots, at convenient distances of thirty or forty mile intervals where an abundant supply of water can be had and even in some cases where an internal water route can be made available for a great distance to­wards the frontier . . . the Monck Road can in my opinion be made very satisfactorry to serve the im­portant purpose now before your consideration.”

Built in sections, the Monck Road was not completed until 1873 and never did prove very satisfactory. Using present day names, the route might be decribed as passing through -North Mara, Rathbum, Sebright, Dartmoor, Uphill, Head Lake Nor­land, Kinmount, Furnace Falls. Irondale, Gooderham, Monck Road and Bancroft.

An article in the Orillia Time of April 8, 1875, two years after the completion of the Monck Road, shows that it quickly fell into dis­repair. “This important thorough­fare is in a most deplorable state at the present, bridge are out of repair and one has already been almost entirely swept away. It must be re­membered that this Road was open­ed up by the government some years ago for the purpose of, like other colonization roads, promoting the settlement of the Crown Domain, and since then the settlers have been obliged to keep it in repair, which they have only been partially able to accomplish owing to the small number of those along the road. The Government have afforded some slight assitance but the expended has almost been thrown away. One fact, however, is certain that this im­portant outlet to a large secion of valuable land should not be neglect­ed......”.

Although there is no evidence that the Monck Road was ever used for military purpose, one of the original intentions, its contribution to the settlement of the inland areas ad­jacent to its route, should not be un- deretimated. In common with other contemporary colonization roads, it was often in disrepair and passage during the summer months very dif- ( ficult. However, it did serve its pur- , pose of encouraging settlement and today provides a picturesque link with our pioneer life of a century or so ago.

The following is a summary of John Churchers’ comments on the history of the Monck Road:

Attracting immigrants to Canada, and the reduction of the loss of these and native-born Canadians to the United States were vital problems in the 1850’s. One measure, taken in 1853, was the passage of the Public Lands Act, whereby a maximum of 100 acres of land would be granted free to any person willing to settle in the “wild lands” of the province, undeveloped land, much of it heavily

There were millions of acres of timbered and some of it suitable for cultivation, though the authorities took an overly optimistic view of the latter. An added inducement was required, the provision of access to these areas, and to this qnd the government launched an ambitious programmme of road building. These roads included such routes as the Opeonga Road, the Muskoka Road, the Hastings Road and the Bobcay- geon Road.

The Monck Road, a pioneer col­onization road was constructed for the dual purpose of opening up a wilderness area to settlement and providing an alternative, less vulner­able, militay route between the Up­per Great Lakes and the Ottawa Valley, at a time when relations with the United States were tense. Its line from the viciniy of Lake Couch- iching to the junction of the Hastings and Missisippi colonization foads at the hamlet of York River (now Ban­croft) was surveyed in 1864-5.

Peter Gibson surveyed the western part and Thomas Weatheraid sur­veyed suveyed ten and a quarter miles eastward from the Bobcaygeon the death of his brother. His work Road before withdrawing owing to was continued by Robert Gilmour, who surveyed from Snowdon Town­ship to the Hastings Road. In 1866 John A. Snow re-examined the west­erly part which had been surveyed by Gibson in order to locate a more favouable line.

Named in honour of the Governor General, Lord Mouck, (1867-68) con­struction began in the spring of 1866 at the western terminus in Mara Township.

In a letter from J. W. Bridgland, superintendent of colonization roads to the Commissioner of Crown Lands dated July 9, 1866, we find direct re­ferences to the Monck Road as a planned military route. “Under the present somewhat war-like aspect of the consideration of constructing the our country, I beg again to revive colonization road line called the Monck Road, the works upon which are already commenced at the west­ern terminus as a military highway. The great advantage of a thoough

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From •■'Orillia Packet & Timesfi', June 27, 1940.

... . WAS THE HOECK ROAD FOR HI LU ARY USE?

Dr* Taxman Delves Into the Official Records

Dr. Jas. J. Talman, Past President of the Ontario Historical Society, in his paper on the Monck Road, which was presented at the Friday session, said that at the outset military considerations affected every east west artery of communication in this province well through the last century. military considerations brought about the building of the Rideau Canal, and it was requirements of military defence that helped, bring about confederation in 1861, The same background was present in the origin of the Monck Road.

In 1852 William Lyon Mackenzie, member for Haldimann, moved that a re-solution be presented to the Governor asking him to take consideration the propriety of causing an immediate survey of the uninhabited tract of country bounded by the French River, Lake Kipissing, the Ottawa River, Lakes Huron and Simcoe and the Georgian Bay, and by the settled parts of the province ; . roads,towns, &o8, to this motion that to ensure speedy settlement, to provide homes for the youth of Canada, encourage immigration and prevent emigration, that the free grant method be employed, by bestowing upon any actual settler, the head of a family, who at the time owned no other land, every alternate quarter section of 160 acres A settler to secure his land on a colonization road, besides other stipulations, had also to keep the road in repair. It was on this colonization basis that many reads were begun, one of the early ones being the Peterson road through Haliburton^ The Monck Road did not appear in the reports on colonization work until relatively late. Dr. Talman remarked, in passing, that it was not eworthy that William Lyon Mackenzie, who had fought against one-seventh of the land being reserved for state purposes, in his own bill provided for half the land, or every alternate section, being so reserved.-, Mackenzie, he thought, was entitled to sympathy as a sincere reformer, but not to the credit which has been given him as a constitutional authority.

In tracing the history of this road, Dr, Talman said the first reference to it uy -:.ared in the Crown Lands report for 186j and had to deal with the Cameron road, which said* :!As the Monck road will probably pass within four miles of the present northern terminus of z road (through the township of Laxton) I think the latter should be extended so as to form a junction therewith.. The Monck road was officially recognized in the reports of the superintendent of Upper Canada colonization roads for the first time in 1864.. .That year he reported, a survey of the Monck Road from Lake Coucniching to the Bobcaygeon road, about forty miles, and another survey in continua­tion of the Monck Road from the terminus of the above survey was ordered, and instructions were issued to provincial Land Surveyor Weatheraid for the performance of the work., Mr. Weatheraid comm­ences, the survey and located. ■ out ten miles of th- -rei, when owing to the sudden d-wyn of his brother he abandoned the worku

Thus the surveys for the Monck road began in 18b4Q By loop the operations on the road included 1st, the completion of the

~ 2 “ (Monk Nd.)survey and location of the line from the eastern bcm nd ary of the Townshin of Snowdon to the Hastings Road, and 2nd, an exploration had also been made at the westerly end of that part of the line surveyed by provincial land Surveyor Gibson, to discover, if possible a more favourable terminus and avoid a great deal of flooded-land passed over in the first location requiring expensive high crossway. The first duty was performed by R. Gilmour, Esq., and the second work was done by John A. Snow, Esq., whose exploration was successful in obtaining an excellent improvement in the terminus.

The first work done upon the line was commenced in June, 1866, under the direction of Mr. Snow, P.L.S. The report of colonization road operations for that year contained the first definite reference to building operations proper on the Monck road, in which the Monck road was described as "a new road, leading from the upper end of Couchiching Lake, in the Township of Mara in an easterly direction, to unite with the Mississippi at the intersection with the Hastings road." Here Dr. Talman thought the reference to the Mississippi river was meant for the York River. In that year eight miles of road had been completed in a substantial manner. Owing to the swampy character of the country, and the wetness of the season, heavy ditching was found to be indispensible throughout the greater part of the above distance. Work was slow on the new road, and by 1868 only ten miles of road and the complete survey were finished. By 1869 progress was better and work was extended from the Burleigh road to the Hastings road, fifteen miles, and from the Bobdaygeon road to a distance of about ten miles. In 187O the-, road-wa's-prolong­ed another eight miles. By 1872 it was reported that the section of the road was finished from the Bobcaygeon Road to the junction with the Mississippi and Hastings Roads, at 'the York branch of the Madawaska River. In 1873 the Monck Road was completed. In brief, its history was that surveys were begun in 1864 and were completed in 1866. Work was begun in 1866 and was completed in 1873* Altogether it cost about ^48,000.00.

Dr. Talman at the outset of his address remarked that most of those interested in the Monck Military Road (as it was sometimes called) to-day agree that the main purpose of the road was to supply a military route well north of the vulnerable St. Lawrence. But in searching the records only one payment, that of ^10,000.00 voted by the parliament of the province of Canada in 1866, for the Monck Military Road, seemed to show that it was of a military nature. How far the road was a military project Dr. Talman was not prepared to say.. Nor did he think the fact that all operations were performed by the superintendent of colonization roads proved that it was only a colonization road, for many of the forts of Canada were built by the department of public works. Perhaps the statement that the Monck road was one-fifth military and four-fifths colonization might be fairly accurate.

In the discussion which followed the reading of the paper, Mr. C. H. hale point ed out that the Monck Roas, nao. its genesis at the time of the friction between Great Britain and the United States over the Trent affair, when there seemed danger that the undefended frontier would be violated. The military motive might therefore seem robable, though naturally not much would be said about it. The Monck

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Road had at least as much justification from a military standpoint as it had for colonization purposes.

(Above supplied by courtesy ofMr. G. V/. Spragee, Archivist of Ontario)

The following information is as supplied by Wm. Kaye Lamb, Dominion Archivist;, Ottawa.

The Monck Road was a colonization road extending from the southern end of Lake Couchiching to the Hastings road, at or near Bancroft. At the Hastings road, there was a connection with the Mississippi road, which ran at least as far east as the township of North Sherbrooke in the County of Lanark. The Monck Road was one of several connecting roads which tied together the Ottawa Valley and Georgian Bay.

Surveys were made of the proposed road in 1864 and in 1865? and construction began in Lune, 18'66. We have no record of the date of the completion of the road. Appropriations of ,^16,000.00 were made in 1864, of 511,200.00 in 1866, and of (£10,000.00 in 1867.

Courtesy Dominion .Archives EARLY SETTLEWIT R DEPUTY,SURVEYOR GE

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Note- 50 acre lots were surveyed along the Hastings Road and

t along the Opeongo Road,

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For western terminals of east-west roads, see next ma_