Example Edits

Example 2

Excerpt from an article about the history of Ontario colonization roads.

Original

The colonization roads of the 1840s and 1850s were preceded by other government-sponsored road programmes going back to the period immediately after the American Revolutionary War. One early road was cut through the geographic Beverley Township from Ancaster westward toward the Grand River by two Englishmen named Ward and Smith in 1799–1800. This allowed European settlers to access the northern part of the Grand River Valley. During and after the War of 1812, government spending on roads in Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) increased significantly, leading to the improvement and extension of a number of roads. Roads into the interior were still not plentiful, however. By this time, a number of townships had been established along the northern shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, which contained generally fertile land composed of glacial till and clay-rich loam; at this time, Upper Canada was “essentially one long, thin strip of settlement” along these shores, according to historian Andrew Burghardt. As these townships filled up, development pressure increased toward the interior, but the colonial government struggled to maintain Upper Canada’s principal roads and bridges. The government pursued private toll roads, empowering corporations to borrow money to finance roadway improvements, which would then theoretically be paid for from toll income. London, which during the 1820s and 1830s was one of the few major settlements in Upper Canada that was not situated on a lake or canal relied heavily on road connections. Numerous road companies suffered from financial problems; Burghardt notes that “[i]t is clear that before the advent of the railway it was difficult to supply adequate means of land transportation at a bearable cost.”

[…]

In 1847, an exploration survey was carried out by Robert Bell to lay out the lines that would become the Opeongo, Hastings, and Addington Roads. The Public Lands Act, passed in 1853, permitted the granting of land to settlers who were at least 18. Those settlers who cleared at least 12 acres (4.9 ha) within four years, built a house within a year, and resided on the grant for at least five years would receive the title to that land. The government subsequently built over 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) of roads over the following 20 years to provide access to these grants.

However, the promises of fertile land in this new northern tract of wilderness proved false. Beneath thin layers of sparsely spread soil was solid granite. Where this granite descended deeper, valleys formed and filled with muskeg. Despite an early influx of settlers, the vast majority of grants were abandoned by the turn of the century; only 40% remained. During the first half of the 1900s, many of these colonization roads were incorporated into the growing provincial highway network. Some sections were improved to modern highway standards, while others were subsequently bypassed or abandoned. The roads that were not incorporated as highways either became local roads or were consumed by nature.

Tracked Edits

The colonization roads of the 1840s and 1850s were preceded by other government-sponsored road programmes going back to from the period immediately after the American Revolutionary War. One early road was cut through the geographic Beverley Township from Ancaster westward toward the Grand River by two Englishmen named Ward and Smith in 1799–1800. One early road was cut westward through the geographic Beverly Township from Ancaster toward the Grand River in 1799–1800 by a pair of Englishmen named Ward and Smith. This allowed European settlers to access the northern part of the Grand River Valley. During and after the War of 1812, government spending on roads in Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) increased significantly, leading to the improvement and extension of a number of roads. Roads into the interior were still not plentiful rare, however. By this time, a number of townships had been established along the northern shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, which contained generally fertile land composed of glacial till and clay-rich loam; at. At this time, Upper Canada was “essentially one long, thin strip of settlement” along these shores, according to historian Andrew Burghardt. As these townships filled up, development developed, pressure increased toward the interior, but and the colonial government struggled to maintain Upper Canada’s principal roads and bridges. The government pursued private toll roads, empowering empowered corporations to borrow money to finance roadway improvements, which would then theoretically be paid for from by toll income. London, which during the 1820s and 1830s was one of the few major settlements in Upper Canada London was one of the few major settlements in Upper Canada during the 1820s and 1830s that was not situated on a lake or canal and relied heavily on road connections. Numerous road companies suffered from financial problems; Burghardt notes that “[i]t is clear that before the advent of the railway it was difficult to supply adequate means of land transportation at a bearable cost.”

[…]

In 1847, an exploration survey was carried out by Robert Bell to lay out the lines that would become the Opeongo, Hastings, and Addington Roads. The Public Lands Act, passed in 1853, permitted the granting of land to settlers who were at least 18 years old. Those settlers who cleared at least 12 acres (4.9 ha) within four years, built a house within a one year, and resided on the grant for at least five years would receive the title to that land. The government subsequently built over 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) of roads over the following 20 years to provide access to these grants. Over the following 20 years, 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) of roads were built to provide access to these grants.

However, the The promises of fertile land in this new northern tract of wilderness proved false, however. Beneath thin layers of sparsely spread soil was solid granite. Where this granite descended deeper, valleys formed and filled with muskeg. Muskeg-filled valleys had formed wherever the granite descended deeper. Despite an early influx of settlers, the vast majority of grants were abandoned by the turn of the century; only 40% remained, with only 40% remaining. During the first half of the 1900s, many of these colonization roads were incorporated into the growing provincial highway network. Some sections were improved to modern highway standards, while others were subsequently bypassed or abandoned. The roads that were not incorporated as highways either became local roads or were consumed by nature., either becoming local roads or being consumed by nature.

Edits Applied

The colonization roads of the 1840s and 1850s were preceded by other government-sponsored road programmes from the period immediately after the American Revolutionary War. One early road was cut westward through the geographic Beverly Township from Ancaster toward the Grand River in 1799–1800 by a pair of Englishmen named Ward and Smith. This allowed European settlers to access the northern part of the Grand River Valley. During and after the War of 1812, government spending on roads in Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) increased significantly, leading to the improvement and extension of a number of roads. Roads into the interior were still rare, however. By this time, a number of townships had been established along the northern shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, which contained generally fertile land composed of glacial till and clay-rich loam. At this time, Upper Canada was “essentially one long, thin strip of settlement” along these shores, according to historian Andrew Burghardt. As these townships developed, pressure increased toward the interior, and the colonial government struggled to maintain Upper Canada’s principal roads and bridges. The government empowered corporations to borrow money to finance roadway improvements, which would then theoretically be paid for by toll income. London was one of the few major settlements in Upper Canada during the 1820s and 1830s that was not situated on a lake or canal and relied heavily on road connections. Numerous road companies suffered from financial problems; Burghardt notes that “[i]t is clear that before the advent of the railway it was difficult to supply adequate means of land transportation at a bearable cost.”

[…]

In 1847, an exploration survey was carried out by Robert Bell to lay out the lines that would become the Opeongo, Hastings, and Addington Roads. The Public Lands Act, passed in 1853, permitted the granting of land to settlers who were at least 18 years old. Those who cleared at least 12 acres (4.9 ha) within four years, built a house within one year, and resided on the grant for at least five years would receive the title to that land. Over the following 20 years, 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) of roads were built to provide access to these grants.

The promises of fertile land in this new northern tract of wilderness proved false, however. Beneath thin layers of sparsely spread soil was solid granite. Muskeg-filled valleys had formed wherever the granite descended deeper. Despite an early influx of settlers, the majority of grants were abandoned by the turn of the century, with only 40% remaining. During the first half of the 1900s, many of these colonization roads were incorporated into the growing provincial highway network. Some sections were improved to modern highway standards, while others were bypassed or abandoned, either becoming local roads or being consumed by nature.