the Bell’s Shipyard constructed in excess of 27 vessels in their own name and many more for Charlottetown businessmen.”l2

“The Granville River in this period was over 100 feet wide, as the cradling gorge of the stream today illustrates, and served as a natural waterway to transport logs to Taper’s Field. The origin of the Rattenbury Road was due to the Bell’s clearing a logging path through the inland hills to the present day Taylor’s Pond. As the mules hauled the timber down the trail to the pond to be floated down the Granville River to the yard, the logging path gradually developed into the rudiments of a roadway.”13

When one combines a knowledge of the location of these centres of industrial activity with a recognition of the need to transport building materials and produce for export to these same centres, then the network of roads begin to make a great deal of sense. The rationale for the Hope River Road, the Cavendish Road, the Douglas Road, the Fountain Road, the Granville Road, the Rattenbury Road and the Trout River Road becomes abundantly apparent and the need for the bridge and drawbridge of 1853 to replace the Fyfe’s Ferry and much later the Morris Bridge, to replace the Trout River ferry also becomes abundantly apparent.

The evolution of this network of roads in and around Stanley Bridge since the late 1800’s reflects the same successes and failures of all the other public roads in the province. Considering all the various administrations and bureaucracies to which our road systems have been subjected, and the total absence of technical information available during the early years of road construction, it should come as no surprise that the sub—structure of these roads has proven less than adequate to meet the ever increasing demands of highway loadings, increased

traffic and speeds.

Early in the twentieth century the industrious people of Stanley Bridge were expressing a seri— ous interest in a more advanced mode of ground transportation system other than a road system with all its inherent maintenance problems of summer puddles and winter pitches as recorded in

the following extract from the Guardian of 1906:

Railway Meeting Held at Long River

At a railway meeting held in Long River Friday night, Newton MacLeod presided and addresses were given by J.S. Cousins, Hon. William Campbell, Edward Warren, A.C. McLeod, John Cann and AB. Warburton.

On motion of AC. MacLeod, a committee of three composed of AC. McLeod, Hon. William Campbell and John Cousins was appointed to draw up the resolution of the meeting. The following were submitted and adopted:

Whereas the people of New London for a number of years have been promised railway accommodations and a survey having been made from Emerald to Stanley Bridge, and whereas said line as surveyed will not give any accommodations to the large farming and business interests on the north side of the Southwest River, and whereas, a line of railroad starting at or near Kensington and touching at a point near French River thence to Clifton and Stanley Bridge would give Clifton and Stanley the accommodation they ask for, as also a large section of New London, north of the province, and would also accommodate the following industries. Viz: The dairying industry, seven

12 Ibid. 13 Ibid.

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