Prior to 1847-48 the area now known as Bruce County was part of a larger area known as the ‘Queens Bush’. French fur traders were the earliest non-Indigenous in the region, followed by explorers, traders, missionaries and fishermen who exploited the rich fisheries along the Lake Huron shore. Between 1844 and 1848 surveyors were sent to the area by the government to survey and map the area. The work was very difficult with the surveyors frequently facing harsh weather, including deep snow and, in warmer months, countless flies and other insects. The early surveyors also faced challenges in accuracy due to primitive instruments and high pressure to complete the work quickly, leaving a legacy of jogs in road and complex boundary lines for the new townships. The survey crews would have to establish a position, often by observing the north star and then cut a straight line through the wilderness by marking trees.

The first permanent settlers arrived in Bruce County in 1848 erecting log cabins near Kincardine and Southampton. Increased numbers of settlers arrived in 1849. By the summer of 1851, the townships of Arran, Elderslie, Saugeen, Bruce and Huron had been surveyed for farm lots and the first settlers began to populate Greenock township in 1851. These farm lots were 100 acres in size and grouped in sections of 10 forming 1,000-acre concession blocks. 1854 saw the “Big” land sale, where the final Crown and School lots in the County were offered for sale by the Crown. Thousands of pioneers including may squatters descended on Southampton for this huge event.

The survey work included the establishment of colonization roads which were rapidly built to the settlements and include the Elora and Saugeen Road (now Highway 9 and Bruce Road 3), the Durham Road (formerly Highway 4 now County Road 4), the Sydenham and Southampton Road, the Southampton and Goderich Road (both now parts of Highway 21), the Carrick and Culross Road (Bruce Road 6), and the Elderslie and Brant Road (Bruce Road 19). By 1856 all the historical townships of Bruce County were surveyed, created and established and farm lots were available to be purchased from the Crown.

The job of a surveyor in the 1800’s was very different from what it is today. The equipment used now is much more sophisticated and accurate although the weather, at times, still creates a huge challenge for our crews and anyone else brave enough to face the conditions we are experiencing this winter.