User:Hollomis/The Burleigh Road

The Burleigh Road edit

The Burleigh Road

LocationBurleigh Falls–The Peterson Road
Length32 km (20 mi)
Formed1850s

My notes about past and current version.

July 2014 version by 1clkgtramg edit

Burleigh Road begins in Burleigh Falls and continues north along Highway 28. It passes through Apsley and by-passes the town. However, inside the town the old colonization road and is named Burleigh Street. At Dyno Road, known as Highway 48, it stops going towards Cardiff and follows the small road north until meeting Highway 118. Form there, the original road jogs east and continues north on Loop Road, known as Highway 648 towards Harcourt. At Harcourt, the road follows Elephant Lake Road, also known as Highway 10, northbound until meeting Peterson Road.

  1. Burleigh Falls
  2. Apsley
  3. Kidd's Corners - northbound
  4. junction of Dyno Road and Hwy 118 - eastbound
  5. junction of Hwy 188 and Loop Road - northbound via Loop Road
  6. Highland Court
  7. Deer Lake
  8. Harcourt - northbound via Elephant Lake Road
  9. Benoir Lake
This seems to describe another colonial road called the Deer Lake Road, further east.

March 2019 version by Donald Outram edit

The Burleigh Road begins in Burleigh Falls and continues north along Highway 28. It passes through Apsley and by-passes the town. However, inside the town is the old colonization road and is named Burleigh Street. Continuing up Highway 28, turn northwest on Dyno Road known as Haliburton County Road 48. When I was growing up it was know as the Cheddar Road, then you pass Kidd Corners. As you continue on, a little way pass the Dyno Mine it use to turned west and go though the town of Cheddar, then continued to the town of Cope Falls, continued north on the east side of Cope Creek towards Cope Lake where it turned west, crossing over Cope Creek, then continued on over the Irondale River, and into the town of Wilberforce, north on Hwy 500, known as Loop Road, County Road 648, pass the Wilberforce Public School and up the hill. From here it continued northeast running on the east side of Cement Lake, and the west side of Grace Lake, and continued north on Burleigh Road, County Road 15 to the old town of Kennaway and onto the Peterson Road.[7]

Note! You can't drive or walk on most of the old Burleigh Road south of Wilberforce. A lot of it is private, some of it is being used as snowmobile trails, these you might be able to walk on. If you'd like to walk some of the middle part of it, park at the Wilberforce Public School, and then walk up the road going up the hill to Clement Lake. On both sides of this road there use to be farms and farm buildings. Most of the families from around here left during the Depression by train and moved out to the western provinces. They just up and left everything behind. Even their cars, parked in the out buildings. When I was very young, I use to be out on Grace Lake, you could see the open fields on the ridges along the Burleigh Road. In the winter you could see the snow on the roofs. They finally caved in from the snow loads & weather. To drive on the north part of it you must go north on Loop Road; County Road 648, and left at the Wilberforce Legion onto County Road 15, Burleigh Road at the top of the hill keep left and go on to the Kenaway Road, turn left onto it, it will bring you out onto Highway 118. Turn Right to Haliburton or Left to Tory Hill. Note! The Kenaway Road passes though part of the Toronto Boy Scouts Reserve, so watch out for the boys & their leaders. This is not a well kept dirt road, it's narrow in some places with lots of sharp corners. So BEWARE of oncoming traffic. If you stay on the Burleigh Road you'll end up at the entrance to Harcourt Park, a private community. If you go though their gates your trespassing and can be charged.

  1. Burleigh Falls
  2. Apsley
  3. Kidd's Corners - northwest
  4. north of Dyno Mine - west
  5. Cheddar
  6. Cope Falls - north
  7. Cope Lake - west
  8. Wilberforce - north
  9. Wilberforce PS
  10. Clement Lake and Grace Lake
  11. Kennaway
  12. Peterson Road
Kidd's Corners, also called Dyno Turn, approximately where Dyno Road (CR 48) branches north from Hwy 28. Dyno Mine is about 5 km north on CR 48 (Mindat.org).
Cope Falls was a post office town at one point. The falls of the Irondale river are near Hwy 118 at 44°58′00″N 78°13′41″W / 44.96656°N 78.22806°W / 44.96656; -78.22806
Cope Creek runs northeast from the falls. Cope Lake is about 11 km north east, which puts it north of Wiberforce.
Kenneway Road west of Burleigh Road is out of scope
Harcourt Park is located on Sumcote Road from the end of present day Burleigh Road (CR 15). It may have been the route of the Kenneway Road east of Burleigh Road

Nov 2021 version by Donald Outram edit

The Burleigh Road begins in Burleigh Falls and continues north along Ontario Highway 28. The highway bypasses the town Apsley. However, inside the town is the old colonization road by the name of Burleigh Street. Continuing up Highway 28, it overlapped Cheddar Road (Dyno Road or Haliburton County Road 48) after passing Kidds Corners. As it continued past the Dyno mine site, it turned west and went through the town of Cheddar, then continued to the town of Cope Falls. From there, it was known as the Burleigh Road again and continued north on the east side of Cope Creek, towards Cope Lake. In Cope Lake, it met Deer Lake Road, which ran east to the town of Deer Lake and Ontario Highway 500. The Burleigh Road then turned west, crossing over Cope Creek and the Irondale River, and into the town of Wilberforce. It then turned north onto Ontario Highway 500 and passed the Wilberforce Public School. From here on, it was again called the Burleigh Road and continued northeast, running on the east side of Clement Lake and the west side of Grace Lake. The road ended at the colonial Kennaway Road in the town of Haliburton.

South of Wilberforce, much of the old Burleigh Road is private, rendering it unusable to the general population. Some of it is being used as snowmobile trails. The middle part is walkable, from the Wilberforce Public School to Clement Lake. Farms are very common along this part of the road. The northern part of the road can be reached by following Loop Road to the Wilberforce Legion.

  1. Burleigh Falls
  2. Apsley
  3. Kidd's Corners - northwest
  4. north of Dyno Mine - west
  5. Cheddar
  6. Cope Falls - north
  7. Cope Lake and Deer Lake Road - west
  8. Wilberforce - north
  9. Wilberforce PS
  10. Clement Lake and Grace Lake
  11. Kennaway
  12. Peterson Road
current Deer Lake Road does not come his far west. (There was also a colonial Deer Lake Road running parallel to the Burleigh Road from Cardiff north to Harcourt and Kenneway).



Florence B. Murray edit

Florence B. Murray, Muskoka and Haliburton 1615-1875 A Collection of Documents. University of Toronto Press 1963.

Map: Colonization Roads in Ontario between Lake Simcoe and the Ottawa River, 1872 Figure 8, page 185.

The original plan for the road was to extend from Burleigh Rapids through the townships of Burleigh Anstruther, Chandos, Cardiff, Monmouth and Dudley to an intersection with the Peterson Road (p lxxiii) Burleigh Road was surveyed in 1860, and construction began in 1862 when 23 miles were built. By 1867, 34 of the planned 56 miles were built. page 189

The surveyor JW Fitzgerald "ran to the boundary line between Monmouth and Cardiff which was struck about 4 miles north of the boundary of Arnstruther township. This boundary I followed for a short distance ...

then made a deviation to the west and after proceeding a short distance crossed the SE branch of the Burnt River at this place about 40 feet wide and connecting two pretty lakes...

struck the Peterson Road about 1 mile west of Buck Lake ... page 209-213.

As of 1871, R Strickland extended the B.R. north to the southern boundary of Harcourt (to Wilberforce) with plans to continue the road to Kenneway village page 288.

The surveyed route:

  1. Burleigh Falls
  2. Apsley
  3. Monmouth-Cardiff boundary line 4 miles north of Arnstruther 44°58′03″N 78°10′01″W / 44.96761°N 78.16695°W / 44.96761; -78.16695 - westbound
  4. Cope Falls and Irondale River crossing 44°57′52″N 78°13′41″W / 44.96447°N 78.22797°W / 44.96447; -78.22797 - northbound
  5. 1 mile west of Buck Lake (Fourcorner Lake) 45°09′14″N 78°17′51″W / 45.15393°N 78.2975°W / 45.15393; -78.2975
Possibly, the road may been surveyed along the Anstruther-Chandos boundary line towards Eels Lake and further north along the Monmouth-Cardiff boundary line until the height of the Monck Road. This is west of Kidd's Corners and Cheddar.
The SE branch of Burnt River must be the Irondale. The crossing point at Cope Falls is roughly west of the above turning point.
In summary, the surveyor confirms that the road jogged west for a few miles before continuing north. When it came time to build the road, the westward jog followed the Monck Road.

In Quest for Yesterday edit

Nila Reynolds, In Quest for Yesterday, The Provisional County of Haliburton, 1968

In return for the timber rights in Harcourt and Dudley, Strickland completed the Burleigh Road from the Monck north to Harcourt township. In later years William Mason and Sons of Ottawa kept a depot for their operations in Harcourt and Bruton at the junction of the Kenneway and Peterson roads. p 107.

In 1872 the Kenneway road was completed through Dysart, Dudley and Harcourt to the Burleigh Road. p 108.

The Burleigh Road intersects the Monck Road at Rock Lake and extends to Wilberforce and Poverty Lake and north to the Kenneway Road in Harcourt township. p.205

The junction of the Monck and Burleigh roads in Cardiff township is sometimes called Woods Corners. p. 216.


  1. Burleigh Falls
  2. Apsley
  3. Kidd's Corners - northwest
  4. Wood's Corners (Cheddar) on the Monck Road
  5. Rock Lake on the Monck Road
  6. Wilberforce and Poverty Lake
  7. Kennaway Road intersection in Harcourt township
  8. Peterson Road intersection
The junction of the Kenneway and Peterson roads might have been near South Algonquin's present day Peterson Road, 45°11′06″N 78°09′57″W / 45.18501°N 78.16575°W / 45.18501; -78.16575 just 1-2 km north of Kenneway 45°10′09″N 78°09′56″W / 45.16917°N 78.16543°W / 45.16917; -78.16543
Wood's Corners is now Cheddar
Poverty Lake is now Wilbermere Lake
Rock Lake not found


floydian edit

I never worked on that particular one, but from what I can follow in maps, it followed Hwy 28 to County Road 48 (Kitts Corners), thence to Hwy 118. It followed 118 west to Legacy Road, which it followed a short distance to 44.99027, -78.20086. You can sort of follow the path from there to where it joins South Wilberforce Road at 44.99811, -78.21016. North of Wilberforce it followed County Road 15 to Kennaway Road at 45.10693, -78.27235. The 8th and 9th maps at Ontario Genealogy, Haliburton Maps are my primary basis for this educated assumption; obviously the modern roads veer from the path of the old trails quite often. - Floydian τ ¢ 02:31, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
This map from 1929 shows it pretty well also: [1] - Floydian τ ¢ 03:43, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
  1. Burleigh Falls
  2. Apsley
  3. Kidd's Corners
  4. Legacy Road and Hwy 118
  5. end of Legacy Road 44.99027, -78.20086
  6. end of South Wilberforce Road at 44.99811, -78.21016
  7. Wilberforce
  8. Kenneway Road at 45.10693, -78.27235

New version edit

hollomis

The old Burleigh Road began in Burleigh Falls and continued north along Ontario Highway 28. Along the way, Burleigh Street in the town of Apsley commemorates the colonization road. In Haliburton County, the route turned northwest at Kidd's Corners and followed Dyno Road (County Road 48) past the Dyno Mine site. At the town of Cheddar, the road briefly jogged west following Ontario Highway 118 to the former community of Cope Falls.[1] It then turned north following present-day Loop Road (County Road 648) to Wilberforce. Here, Burleigh Road still exists as County Road 15, running roughly north on the eastern side of Clement Lake and the western side of Grace Lake until it meets the Kennaway Road. The remainder of the northbound tract is an unpaved road running to Fourcorner Lake, where the intersection of the Burleigh and Peterson roads was located. [2]

  1. ^ "Haliburton County and Regional Maps". Ontario Genealogy.com. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  2. ^ Florence B. Murray (1963). Muskoka and Haliburton 1615-1875: A Collection of Documents. University of Toronto Press. pp. 185, 209–213.