The Post War Years

The Post War Years. Fortifying the Lakes and Heading West. , Following the War of 18 12, the British recognized the strategic importance of the Great Lakes and set to work strengthening the defences of Upper Canada. Vast quantities of supplies passed this way to build and maintain new settlements including those at Drummond Island, Schooner Town at the mouth of the Nottawasaga, and Penetanguishene. , Between 1815 and the early 1820s, traffic on the Nine Mile Portage was heavy and Fort Willow became a critical depot for supplies awaiting boats heading to Georgian Bay. Nine buildings were located within the fort, with at least one storehouse located outside. A 1.5 km long corduroy road stretched from the fort to another set of storehouses and a wharf on Willow Creek. , The Reverend Thomas Williams worked on the Nine Mile Portage in the early 1820s at the age of 14. In The Pioneer Papers, his written account of the time, Rev. Williams tells us that three teams of oxen were employed, hauling carts capable of carrying 12 barrels of flour or the equivalent (about 1 ton). Each team was able to make a return trip in a single day, and made up to four trips a week. , In the 1820s the Nine Mile Portage saw a wide variety of travelers in addition to the military and naval traffic. These included fur traders and pioneer settlers heading west. David Thompson, the famous surveyor and mapmaker, and Arctic explorer Captain John Franklin were among those that made their way along the portage. The Nine Mile Portage remained in use into the 1830s, when Sunnidale Road was built and the Penetanguishene Road, formerly only passable in the winter months, was improved. These routes themselves were eclipsed in the 1850s by the railways.