PAGE 8, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30,1l980, WHITBY FREE PRESS Our historie ai heritage.... Roads, -church slowed Whitby!s 9growth By EUGENE HENRY and they were a long time in Indian trails by foot or un surveying land for roads and creased rapidly. IL was the ail living in cold, centr There were no roads of comning. horseback and almost 50 settlemnent, close to Lake outlying roads, the con- Canada that transportaiî any kind, in the Whitby area, Travellers moved through years wuuld pass before Ontario required con- cessslun roads stretching for was easiest in winter Wh when our first settiers the dense, primeval forests farmers un the back con- siderable thought and plan- miles east and west In the the frozen ground and w~ arrived In the earlv 1790's of those days via ages old cessions, north of here. ning. Whitby area, up Lu L.ake packed snow provided1 trai, Mon ihen weil the - - -- - - --. - - percent W 13 60 and a day club13p/ Calclae on your Minimum Monthly Balance. Elfectîse Ma:y 1 VICTORIA AND GREY TRUST Since 1844 Contact us in Whitby at: 308 Dundas St. W. 668-9324 Member: Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation would have passable through roads to transport their grain and lumber down to Whitby harbour. Faced with the threat of the war between Canada and the United States after the Amnerican Revolution (1775- 1783) Governur John Graves Simcoe did move to build military roads between the main centres of population in Upper Canada between 1792 and 1795. IL was during that period of time that the York Lu Kingston Highway was built and it was then that Simcoe's engineers surveyed the Township of Whitby and the land around Whitby harbour for the first ime. The prucedures for ONTARIO'S FISH*TESTING PROGRAM Ontario is famous for its fishing. The Ontario government constantly checks this valuable resource through its continuing research and testing program of fish. Testing has nowv been done in 882 lakes and rivers. "GUIDE TO EATING ONTARIOtSPORT FISH"ý The resuits are published in the three bookiets "Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish" (Northern Ontario, Southern Ontario and Great Lakes editions). NOW AVAILABLE FOR 1980 You can get your free copies from your nearest office of THE ONTARIO MINISTRY 0F THE ENVIR0NMENT THE ONTARIO MINISTRY 0F NATURAL RESOURCES THE ONTARIO MINISTRY 0F N0RTHERN AFFAIRS Copies are also avaîlable in vacation area Brewvers' Retail Stores and LCB0 Stores during June. Ministry of the Environment Hom~ Harry C. Farrott, DOS, Mnister Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Hon. James A. C. Autd, Minster The engineers first laid a "base line" sufficiently far inland to miss any bodies of water like Frenchman's Bay or Whitby harbour and on this line they laid out town- ships fine by twelve miles in size. In each townslhip the concession roads were run parellel to the base Une one- and-a-quarter miles apart. in recent years department of highways engineers have checked the lines laid on the ground by Sirmcoe's sur- veyors and found their work tu be good and precise. The York to Kingston Highway became Highway 2 eventually and it was its in- tersection with the nor- th/south road froni Whitby harbour that created the "four corners" of the Town of Whitby and its role as a cross roads trading centre over the years. Because it was a military road, the governrnent in York repaired and main- tained' the York to Kingston Road and the real estate values of properties on iL in- ARROW T-5( STAPLE GUN SWandai THE COMPLE Simcoe over to Uxbridge around Lake Scugog where poor roads remained a problem for many years and a hindrance to development. We must keep in mind that ail these roads were placed like a grid on some of the finest agricultural land of Central Canada with fine, fertile, top soul - good for gruwing wheat but a poor base for a road to take heavily loaded wagons across country. As a resuit they were a morass of mud in mid-sunimer and a hazard for coaches such as the one shown in the drawing until the 1850's and later. When the settiers were granted their land they agreed to maintain the road on wbich their property was lucated. That was fine where most of the land was "taken up"I long stretches of road could be maintained through the co-operative effort of ad- joining owners. On the out- lying concessions conditions were dreadful Lu desperate. It soom becamne obvious to o VISITF 1 &TonyMartinlat J ETE HARDWARE STORE WHITBY DOMINION HARDWAR E 319 BROOK ST. S.6834 best and fastest surface of ail. The farmer used a large square box on runners to niake a serviceable sleigh. It was a great success but summer roads remained poor to bad for a long time for another big reason. The Church of England owned one-seventh of ail the land in Upper Canada in those days and there was lit- tle or nu road repairs fron- ting on what was known then as the "celergy reserves". There is littie doubt that the negleet of road repairs by the national church of those days slowed early Whitby area growth. Developers of towns and villages in Upper Canada started to surface their most heavily raveiled roads with planks of pine just before the railway era began in our part of the world. In 1848, the road from Whitby harbour to the fifth concession of Reach was planked. It gave a fine hard surface in both winter and summer for two or three years. In marshy areas, felled trees were laid side by side for miles Lu, forni roads. In retrospect, we can see now that the wheat growing farm lands of the Whitby area, the roads, taverns, black smith shope and grain handling buildings around Whitby harbour were an economic systern that worked. IL was, however, the poor service - roads throughout the area' that dragged upon the systern and slowed the maximum growth of the Whitby area. f------WATER BEDS UNLIMUTED--------i Wholale Il Rotait Distribution of Waterbeds & Accessoms. Discou nt IFor ALL oeidmnts in the Durham bgMoo1 A. Co mplet. chesterf ileand cha o1pe ttino ti d as shown. Poids oui f0 Queer' B.d. Oth.r hMod.4s avellableI 8. Complet. pack~age as shown Includ- Sf Uiting et $220»0O Ing 14 y.ar mattress guarantee. i eetl lie adlie$l. 39 9 CALL ANYTrIME Toronto, 2124 Bloor St. W. 769-4596 Brampton, 239 Queen St. 457-5984co' SPe*cial Saving UMM" - -.-- -., - - -- -C'-- --- D q