In early times roads were particularly difficult to build; there were three main reasons for this: 1. settlement was thinly dispersed over hundreds of miles. 2. land was heavily wooded and watered by many streams. 3. there was immense quantities of unoccupied land which resulted from reserves, Indian lands and land absentees and holders.
The governments began to build roads, their main concern was for protection from American invasion . “There concern was to layout trunk roads with an eye for defense even if they were not of economic value to the settlers."
The first road to be built in this area was the Danforth Road. It was set well back from the lake (in case of attack) it could serve as a major link between settlements. This road extended from Kingston to York and was nothing more than a blazed trail. It fell into bad repair very quickly.
Kingston Road was built around l8l7-18. It was south of the Danforth Road and much closer to the lake. It was a better road than the Danforth. Although it was a useable highway certain sections were always trouble. Cordouroy sections were impassable some months of the year and often there were large mudholes in the road.
