Monck Road
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Monck Road was one of a series of settlement roads built by the Canadian government in the mid 19th century to encourage development of northeastern Ontario. Yet, the Monck Road was also built as a strategic military route from the Ottawa Valley to Lake Huron in order to bypass the vulnerable route along the Saint Lawrence River. [1]
The Monck Road was surveyed from 1864 to 1865, construction began the next year and completed seven years later in 1873. It was named in honour of Charles Stanley Monck, who was Governor General of Canada at that time. Free land was granted along the road to persons meeting the settlement criteria. [1]
The road starts in Bancroft at the intersection of the Hastings and Mississippi Colonization Roads, and ends at Lake Couchiching. It runs through the following towns and villages (from east to west):
While partially realigned and straightened, the following routes make up the Monck Road today (from east to west):
- Highway 28
- Highway 118
- Haliburton County Road 503
- Kawartha Lakes County Road 45
- Simcoe County Road 45
