Old Princetown Road (also known as Old Malpeque Road or simply Malpeque Road) is an historic colonial road in the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

province of

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. Dating to at least 1771, the approximately road was an important inland commercial and military route connecting the town of Princetown or Malpeque with the colonial capital at

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

. A large part of the former road is now in use as Route 2 between Charlottetown and

Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...

, while other parts remain as gravel roads or dirt paths, and some portions have been replaced entirely by farmland. A short section near South Granville is listed on the

Canadian Register of Historic Places The Canadian Register of Historic Places (CRHP; , ), also known as Canada's Historic Places, is an online directory of historic places in Canada which have been formally recognized for their heritage value by a federal, provincial, territorial ...

Route description

The road began in Charlottetown at an intersection with Euston and Great George streets, bearing north. It passed through suburbs north of Charlottetown, curving around the York River (now North River) and bearing to the west through Milton then north-west through

. The road continued on nearly the same bearing past Hazel Grove, South Granville, Graham's Road, Clinton and

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

. West of Margate the road turned north again, bearing directly for Princetown. The road terminated at Brander's Road (now Route 103), at the southern boundary of Prince Royalty.

History

The road was first envisioned by French colonial leaders around 1733. The British took control of the colony in 1758 following the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, and quickly recognized the importance of an inland route between the county seats of Princetown and Charlottetown. Work on improving the French road began in 1771. In 1797, Colonel Joseph Robinson's orders to muster were ignored by the Prince County Regiment, based in Princetown. On the morning of September 5, Lieutenant-Governor Edmund Fanning marched the Princetown Road with a force of

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from Charlottetown to put down the insurrection. This event became known in local lore as the Siege of Malpeque. The original road was surveyed through hilly and challenging terrain. Complaints that the road needed to be modified led to a new road being surveyed in 1825. The New Princetown Road diverted west from Hazel Grove to

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, then turned north-west through Springfield and Summerfield to

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

. At Kensington the road turned north to Malpeque. The new road later became Routes 2 and 20. After the new road opened in 1827, the original road fell into disuse.

Current status

The road's original alignment is today known as University Avenue in Charlottetown. North-west of the city, the road is in use as Route 2 (Malpeque Road) as far as Hazel Brook. From there the road is known as Hazel Brook Road, a dirt road numbered Route 228, and Mill Road, an unmaintained dirt roadway. At Warburton Road, Mill Road becomes Old Princetown Road, which continues to Route 231 (Millvale Road). Here the road is interrupted, the portion further north having been replaced by farmland. At South Granville the road resumes, in the form of a dirt hiking trail through a scenic area known as the Devil's Punchbowl. On December 12, 2008, the trail was added to the

. The road then continues as Princetown Road for , where it is interrupted by the Red Sands Golf Course. North of Red Sands, the former road is in use as Route 6 for , then a short section of Thompson Point Road, then Route 104 for another . Old Princetown Road diverts from Route 104 and continues another to Route 103 outside

Malpeque Bay Malpeque Bay is a estuarine bay on the north shore of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Description Malpeque Bay is the second largest bay in terms of surface area in Prince Edward Island, following Hillsborough Bay. It is also notable for almost ...

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , title=Illustrated Historical Atlas of the Province of Prince Edward Island , publisher=J. H. Meacham & Co. , year=1880 , url=http://www.islandimagined.ca/meachams_atlas , accessdate=September 25, 2016 {{cite web , url=http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=10672 , title=Old Princetown Road , website=Canada's Historic Places , publisher=

Parks Canada Parks Canada ()Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 37 National Parks, three National Marine Co ...

, accessdate=September 26, 2016

External links

Historic Places of Prince Edward Island: Old Princetown Road
Roads in Prince County, Prince Edward Island Roads in Queens County, Prince Edward Island Hiking trails in Prince Edward Island Heritage sites in Prince Edward Island