New Life for the Portage Road . J

r;('II(,' POrl ag(' A.'.",,·iar ion New Life for the Portage Road . J .. ~~-:-~. ...... .--" "-.; ~ " Portage Road is the oldest road in continuous use in opera tes the Weller Upper Canada, and it can be found here in Prince House Gallery on that Road, has Edward Cou nty. taken a great interest in increasing awareness of the A thousand year old Indian trail, now the dividing value of the road and has spent a great amount of time line of Prince Edward and Northumberland counties, researching its past, and promoting its future. the road runs from the Bay of Quinte to Weller's Bay [n his studies, he has found that, in 1787, the road on Lake Ontario, Modern travellers will know it as part was plied by John Bleeker, the first trader in that area. of a busy junction at The Carrying Place, and as part of He was the son in law of Captain John Walden Meyers, the route to Barcovan Golf Course and on to Brighton, who was instrumental in the establishment of what is [n fact, it could be said that Carrying Place as a village now the city of Belleville. existed only because of the Portage Road, which neatly Another important figure in the development of cut the village in half, placing it in two counties, that end of the County, Asa Weller, built the house Dr. Paul Germain, who with his wife Edythe that is now occupied by the Germains. Dr. Germain says that Weller was "undisputedly" the first white settler in that corner of the County in 1791, As well as establishing a well-known stagecoach route there, Weller left his mark by erecting two outstanding brick buildings which still survive today. In The County by Dick and Janet Lunn, it is noted that: "At Carrying Place, Asa Weller had a flourishing portage business. Weller had been an early pioneer, the first at Carrying Place (his daughter Sarah was the first ~h'ite child born in the west end of the County) ... The portaging was managed with a sort of truck, a long platform on wheels, that could carry a batteau across the isthmus. It was very successful. A great many private people made use of his services as did the weekly boat from Kingston to York. He also rented batteaux and contracted transport services to the army during the War of lH 12." [n Weller's days, of course, the waterways wcre essential for transporting goods and people. His position in the 'neck' of Prince Edward allowed him to supply a more sophisticated method of portaging following the trail the Indians had used for the same purpose for hundreds l,f years. A-LJ \\ Though Weller's later land run by stagecoach from Kingston to significance make it the "most a beautiful part of this country," he York showed ani ncreasi ng beautiful place in the world" and said, "of the richness of its past, of emphasis on land travel, there was this attitude feeds his enthusiasm. the great entrepreneurship and always a strong need to transport "I keep telling people from the inventiveness of the pioneers." boa ts from one hody of wa ter to the city: where do you find this beauty, "Such a festival at the very gate of other across the neck of land at The where do you find all these nice Prince Edward County, connected Carrying Place. beaches ... it's not in Bermuda, it's with Trenton, Trent Waterway, After the War of 1812, serious here, right here at Carrying Place in Murray Canal, Brighton and the talk began to circulate about Ontario." three Provincial Parks (Presqu'ile, building a canal to serve this The next step in his personal plan North Beach and Sandbanks), will purpose. Land had already been set for the area is the formation of the help boost tourist business for the aside for this, but it wasn't until Kente Portage Association. whole region." 1882 that the ground was broken "Everyone on the road is now a In addition to local group and the Murray Canal project was member, and we are still collecting support, he is also gathering the begun. people," he said. "Some people have interest of canoe and portage "The Murray Canal replaced the offered d?nations to help us, and groups from outside the area. Also Portage Road," Dr. Germain said, we haven't even asked for them!" planned for the event are "and unfortunately it fell into The first major project of the exhibitions and demonstrations, a disrepair." Association will be the Kente pageant of historic times of Upper Now he is trying to bring Portage Festival, to be heldJuly 21- Canada, a Governor Simcoe feast, attention to it again, and wants it to 23, 1989. The Festival will be parade and encampment by U.EL. be examined hy historians, centred around canoe and portage regiments, and something called politicians and the general public. competitions, and it is receiving 'Ambush at Indian Island'. "A lot of people are looking at it support from several local tourist More details will be developed now," he says, "and they not only gwups. It has even sparked interest over the winter, but we can he see the nice things, but the in the office of the Ministry of assured that, one way or another, deterioration as well." T()urism and Recreation. Dr. Germain will make sure that the He helieves that its combination "The purpos<: of the Festival is to spotligh ( falls on Portage Road In of natural heauty and historical III a ke residell ts and visitors a \Vare of (he near future. ::J County Magazine 47 (lvl in 6/otJlY)f/e/~ I1--,'nce hlwt:t,--d r tti L 8 1989.

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