The Bobcaygeon Colonization Road: 1859-Present

Prefacing a look at the Bobcaygeon Colonization Road and its impact on the opening up of the areas of Haliburton and Minden, the paper presents background on the settlement and colonization of the areas looking at the way both the native population and the settlers considered the land and its use.

Colonization roads were those built during the fifteen years preceding Confederation and intended to be links from the lakefront areas to the interior parts of the province. The paper outlines the progression of settlement as the Bobcaygeon Road was begun in 1855-56 and as it expanded, stressing the social and economic changes that went along with expansion. Finally, the paper looks at Haliburton today focusing on the importance of tourism and the need to protect the natural beauty of the area.