Natural History

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Roads Less Travelled By Scenic Heritage Roads on Prince Edward Island

By Fred Home and Jackie Waddell Wharburton Road at Fredericton.

The phrase "scenic heritage roads" conjures up a variety of images,

some historic, others pastoral: pioneer trails pointing the way to a more dis-tant time, leafy tunnels dappled with sunlight, narrow, wooded tracks wind-ing through the countryside. In fact, scenic heritage roads recall both our human and natural heritage. That should not seem surprising, for the two are entwined.

Island roads grew out of the need to get from one place to another. They began as indentations worn in the earth's surface by the regular passage of humans and other animals. The route of these early roads was a com-promise between the line of least resist-ance across the varied terrain and a desire to travel as directly as possible. To accommodate the transport of vari-ous human possessions, roads were widened, and as the possessions grew, so did the roads. Eventually, the means of conveyance came to have an even greater impact than the cargo conveyed, as the introduction of the automobile transformed Island roads. Many of the Island's first roads have been flattened, widened, straightened, ditched, and paved. Hedgerows have been removed, and the traveller, enclosed in metal and glass, has been distanced from the nat-ural vegetation and wildlife near the road. But something was forgotten in the enhanced ability to get from place to place. For the Island's roads are not just a venue for viewing the province's

pastoral beauty; they are themselves a part of our heritage.

To Protect and Preserve

Over the past seven years, a sustained attempt has been made to define, identi-fy, and preserve "scenic heritage roads" on Prince Edward Island. The effort began in 1981 when the provincial government commissioned Stan Vass "to inventory, evaluate and classify the lesser known woodland roads in Prince Edward Island and to provide informa-tion for policy and practise in their management." His subsequent report, "The Island's Rustic Roads" (1982), constituted an important first step in the process of defining and designating roads important to the province's scenic heritage.*

The designation of Scenic Heritage Roads became possible in 1987. In an effort to prevent users, both public and private, from altering designated rustic roads and their bordering vegetation, the Provincial Government passed regulations under the Planning Act, controlling the activities that may take place there. By agreement with the

*In the fall of 1987, Reginald Porter continued Vass' survey, extensively exploring Prince Coun-ty's rustic roads.

Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs, the Island Nature Trust has undertaken the task of doing the neces-sary background research and recom-mending roads to Government for desig-nation. As part of the process, re-searchers interview landowners along the route of each road to acquaint them with the Scenic Heritage Roads pro-gram, to gather information about the road in question, and to solicit agree-ment to the creation of a buffer zone in addition to the public right-of-way.

Not every unpaved road is a candi-date for scenic heritage road status. In his report on rustic roads, Vass estab-lished four main criteria for the highest classification of roads. First, woodland must adjoin at least 50% of its length. Second, two-way driving passage must be possible (at least at regular inter-vals). There must be a naturally sound roadbed or one so maintained. Finally, there must be little or no intrusive development. The presence of hardwood canopies and twists and turns through hilly terrain, resulting in beautiful and varied vistas for travellers, was also deemed a valuable attribute. Vass' con-siderations mixed the aesthetic with the practical. The criteria emphasized the scenic qualities of rustic roads, but stipulated that they be suitable for vis-itation and, thus, appreciation by a public already largely aware of their existence and attributes. Despite their historical significance, several early Island roads were not considered, either

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because they were overgrown and im-passable by automobiles or because modernization had stripped them of their scenic qualities.

Although the scenic attributes of designated roads are paramount, tradi-tional use as shortcuts and for access to agricultural lands and woodlots cannot be ignored. With a carefully designed maintenance plan for each road, the Department of Transportation and Public Works and the Department of Forestry can work with the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs to protect these roads from excessive widening and ditching.

To date five roads have been desig-nated as Scenic Heritage Roads; on these the public right-of-way (usually 66 feet) is now protected. Nine other roads have been recommended for designation, pending departmental approval. Two of the designated roads lie in southern Kings County: the County Line Road, running north for 2.6 kilometres from Caledonia, and a portion of the MacDonald Mill Road (as it is known locally) near New Perth, leading south from Route 3 to the old mill dam and pond.* The other three roads are located in the central high-lands of Queens County. The Millman Road in western Queens runs south from Irishtown for two kilometres to

T h e entire road had originally been designated, until it was discovered that the southern section was a actually a private road opening to the Mel-lish Road.

Princetown Road near Ross's Corner, with wild apples strewn across the roadway, now several feet below the level of the surrounding countryside.

A sudden vista greets travellers along a stretch of what was formerly known as the West Clyde River Road near New Haven.

Route 234. Near Fredericton Station, a "Y"-shaped road consists of parts of the old Princetown Road (one of the Island's most famous) and the Wharburton Road. Finally, an unnamed road, known locally as the Perry Road, covers two kilometres between Routes 239 and 228.

No roads have yet been designated in Prince County. Because fewer roads in that region feature a canopy of hard-wood forest, the selection of Prince County roads is difficult when using the same criteria as was employed for the rest of the province. But recent research has yielded an extensive list of candidate roads, and two have already been recommended for designation as Scenic Heritage Roads.

The most beautiful roads catalogued to date are those within a narrow band running northwest from the Northum-berland Strait through the wooded high-lands of central Queens to the North Shore. Another area with similar topo-graphy cuts across the border between southeastern Queens and southwestern Kings counties. Here, red clay roads carve narrow paths through a wooded landscape. The result, predictably, is beautiful.

Uphill and Down

On the Island's scenic heritage roads, natural beauty most often begins with a vista. Each vista must begin with a vantage point. In lieu of mountains (with which the Island is very poorly

supplied), the best vantage points are hills, and the Island's scenic roads abound in them.

Hills have always presented a chal-lenge to the traveller, whether afoot, on horseback, or riding in the most power-ful of today's off-road vehicles. On a portion of the County Line Road (divid-ing Prince and Queens Counties), there is a reported "magnetic" hill which was once so steep, according to one observer, that at its base the driver of a wagon loaded with grain "could touch the ears of his horses without getting out of his seat." The hill still poses problems for travellers. Years of annual scraping and seasonal run-off have worn down the roadbed so that the banks flanking it are now several feet high, creating a "no-place-to-go-but-down" hazard.

Other examples of roads that pass through hilly terrain include the Mill-man Road near Irishtown, the Mac-Arthur Road (Peter's Road) near New Haven, and the "Y"-shaped road near Fredericton Station (described earlier). The hills, like the roads, often bear the names of local people or events. Per-haps the most charming of the "hill" stories related by present and former residents is one from a woman who once lived on the Princetown Road. Growing up during the 1940s and '50s, she had to walk two miles along the Wharburton Road to school. The trek was lonely, long, sometimes frighten-ing, and always arduous. She attended school only when the seasons would allow but became very familiar with the route, calling every hill and hollow by

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Trees and bushes crowd the track of the Wharburton Road near Millvale.

name. Among them were Week's Hill, Brook and Wood, Inch Hill, Mile Hill, Ben's Hole, and Milner's Hole. Another informant remembered the area on the Princetown Road around the bridge that is now washed out as Marianne's Hollow.

This part of the Princetown Road has become a beautiful walking trail and is also used as a bridle path. It best dis-plays the startling transition that some roads have undergone. Once a busy thoroughfare that transported travellers from Charlottetown to Princetown, which was intended to be the Prince County capital, the Princetown Road is now in many places a narrow, nearly grown-over trail, seldom used but much enjoyed by its occasional visitors. This section of the Princetown Road meets the Wharburton Road at Ross's Corner, named after the family that lived there until some 60 years ago. The last family to live on these roads, the Morrisons, moved out in the late 1950s, leaving the area uninhabited for the first time since the 1820s.

Travelling in Time To travel the Island's rustic roads is to make a journey into the past. The gener-al condition of these narrow, clay roads is roughly equivalent to the Island roads of the early 20th century. An observer from that period might find the modern equivalents luxurious; an Islander from the 1830s would be flabbergasted at

their magnificence. In many places, repeated annual scraping has lowered the roadbed well below the surrounding landscape. Meanwhile, the features that may have presented problems to tra-vellers as recently as 80 years ago no longer exist. Tree roots, stumps, rocks, small rises and gullies iiave all been

obliterated by the large machines that now maintain the roads. However, sharp turns, steep hills, and wet areas remain to take the traveller back in time — if only because they can be time-consum-ing for those who lack the imagination for time-travel.

Experiencing the same sensations felt by horse-drawn ancestors is made easier on roads that are canopied by border-ing trees. The leafy arches create a highly picturesque effect, celebrated by Island writers and artists. Tunnels of foliage can be found along parts of the designated sections of the Princetown Road and along the New Harmony Road just east of Souris in Kings County. These are just two examples of many throughout the province.

But the prevalence of "canopy" on the Island's rustic roads is fast disap-pearing as road-widening operations grow more extensive. In July 1913, famed Island author L. M. Montgomery drove the County Line Road (forming the border between Queens and Kings Counties) with her husband, Ewen MacDonald. She described the experi-ence this way:

Ewen and I had a drive this even-ing — one of the most delightful drives I ever had in my life. We went along what is called the 'the county line road/ For over three miles it winds through glorious maple woods where the trees meet

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Sunlight ripples through a canopy of trees on the Warburton Road.

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overhead and the green carpet of ferns comes out to the very edge of the road I shall remember that ride and the beauty of that road all my life*

When Stan Vass catalogued this road in 1982, it still retained much of its charm. Since then, however, road-widening has destroyed the canopy of trees that had enraptured Montgomery. Fortunately, other examples of this beautiful effect have survived the mounting pressures to widen, develop, and clear.

Tree and Leaf Natural beauty on the Island's scenic heritage roads goes hand in hand with natural history. In his poem, "The Island," Milton Acorn wrote:

Nowhere that plow-cut worms heal themselves in red loam; spruces squat, skirts in sand; or the stones of a river rattle its

dark tunnel under the elms, is there a spot not measured by

hands.

Acorn's poetic point is well taken, for no part of the Island's natural land-scape has not been shaped by human intervention. It is no surprise, then, to find that all lands adjacent to scenic heritage roads have been cut over at least once. Indeed, many of them were once under cultivation. Widespread farmland abandonment in the 20th century has resulted in whole farms growing up in various species of soft-wood or pure stands of white spruce. The oldest of these stands are past maturity. Some are even dying, and in general a great deal of work is neces-sary to bring them back to a healthy state. Along most scenic roads there is at least one example of this type of stand. The north end of the MacArthur Road, the east end of the Currie Road, and portions of Jack's Road come to mind. In addition, mature white spruce hedgerows border many roads or parts of roads, such as the Farrar Road, the unnamed road running from New Haven to Riverdale, and the McKenna Road. One of the most easily recogniz-able of native softwoods is the hemlock. In the mixed woodlands along the Jack's Road, there are several large specimens,

*Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston, eds. The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, vol. 2, 1910-1921 (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 122.

whose boughs form part of the canopy there.

The hemlock occurs naturally in the province. Many other trees commonly found along the roadside are reminders of human habitation. In various places, wild apple trees line the roadway, escapees from vanished farmyards. Other species, like mountain ash, pin cherry, and hawthorn, may be the de-scendants of trees and shrubs planted around homesteads or as hedgerows.

The indigenous hardwood trees of the Island, such as the sugar maple, red maple, beech, and red oak, are the major contributors to the canopies that arch over many rustic roads. The soft-woods, for example, white spruce, pine, and (in Prince County) cedar, provide shelter in winter and sharp colour con-trast in autumn, when the hardwoods are in their glory. Beautiful hardwood stands can be found on the Bolger Park Road near Bonshaw, the MacArthur Road, the McKenna Road, and—though it is a small stand — along the County Line Road on the Kings-Queens border.

Vegetation under the tree cover is varied and lovely. It can include the huge ostrich fern, the lady's slipper, the trillium, and other shade-loving plants. In open areas, such as ditches and abandoned fields, lupins, asters, black eyed susans, strawberries, and rasp-berries can all be seen. Such plant life adds to the aesthetic and natural appeal of the rustic roads.

In a number of instances, the border-ing vegetation along the Island's scenic heritage roads is now protected by land-owner agreements made with the Island Nature Trust through the Landowner Contact Program. Landowners adjacent to many rustic roads have voluntarily entered into simple agreements with the Trust to protect a strip of woodland or hedgerow next to the right-of-way. Protected by such agreements, these roads will retain the qualities that have made them beautiful drives and walks.

Towards the Future In the recent past, backcountry roads have been prized by rum-runners, lovers, and even bank robbers. Less romanti-cally, they have also been used as short-cuts, trash dumps, drinking hangouts, bird-watching sites, and routes for transporting mussel mud. Today, scenic heritage roads continue to fill many roles. They are still travelled — in sea-son — as the shortest route between two points; they offer peaceful walks; they provide access for farmers to fields and woodland. They also lend themselves to winter recreation. Since most of the woodland roads are not plowed in win-

ter, they become ideal ski, snowmobile, and snowshoe trails.

Many of the older roads lie adjacent to the paths of streams and rivers, where they once served as the route to mills of all sorts and gave Islanders of an earlier period access to running water for the transportation of goods and logs to ports further downstream. These old access points are now frequently used by fishermen looking for a quiet spot or birders in pursuit of an elusive warbler.

Threats to the beauty of the Island's rustic roads persist. Tree trunks and overhanging boughs impede the large machinery used by woodsmen and farmers. On undesignated routes, ditch-ing and widening continue to mar scenic qualities. Strip development and clear-cutting are other problems that pose threats to the treed borders of rustic roads.

As work continues on these rustic roads, they will become more familiar to all Islanders, and their worth more apparent. Under the Prince Edward Island Conservation Strategy and through cooperation and encourage-ment form some community groups, preliminary plans have been devised to implement signage and customized management plans for the designated scenic heritage roads. This will also require the involvement of no less than three government departments. But the effort is worthwhile. The scenic heri-tage roads serve as reminders of our past, a past that can be re-visited simply by turning off the well travelled path. These are the roads less-travelled by, but in the context of our human and natural history, they can, as Robert Frost once wrote, "make all the difference."

A f t e r w o r d

Interested readers can find out more about the Island's Scenic Heritage Roads Program by reading Stanley E. Vass, "The Island's Rustic Roads: A Partial Inventory, Evaluation, and Classification of Little Used Woodland Roads in Prince Edward Island," a report done in 1982 for the Department of Community Affairs; and Fred Home, Sandy Knudson, Arlene Rice, and Chris Roumbanis, "1988 Scenic Heritage Roads Program: Final Report," which is available through the Island Nature Trust. Elinor Vass' "Early Island Roads ," The Island Magazine 19 (Spring-Summer, 1986) explores the province's first roads from a historical perspective. i«i

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