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

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

province of

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

. 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 Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

. 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; french: Le Répertoire canadien des lieux patrimoniaux), also known as Canada's Historic Places, is an online directory of historic sites in Canada which have been formally recognized for their her ...

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 Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

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 on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

. 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 (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

, 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 Edmund Fanning (July 16, 1769 – April 23, 1841) was an American explorer and sea captain, known as the "Pathfinder of the Pacific." Life Born in Stonington in the British Crown Colony of Connecticut to Gilbert and Huldah Fanning, from ne ...

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

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

, then turned north-west through

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and Summerfield to

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, 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 b ...

. 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 almos ...

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 (PC; french: Parcs 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 48 National Parks, th ...

, 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