The Peterson Road
The Peterson Road was named after Joseph S. Peterson, the surveyor who determined its route in this region. Constructed 1858-1863 at a cost of some $39,000 it stretched about 183 km between the Muskoka and Opeongo Roads and formed part of a system of government colonization routes built to open up the southern region of the Precambrian Shield. Poor soil disappointed hopes of a large-scale agricultural settlement along this road both on government "free-grant" lots and on the lands of the Canadian Land and Emigration Company. Though portions of the route were overgrown by the 1870's, the Maynooth-Combermere section aided lumbering and now contributes to the development of an important Ontario vacation area.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.