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ROAD SALES I will sell by Public Auction to the lowest bidder the following Roads and Small Culverts.

Commencing on the 10 of June on the Back Freetown Road at 8 AM. at or near Thomas Taylors follow— ing on to the County Line; at 10 AM. repairs on Main Freetown Road. Thence to Nod at 12 o’clock on Murphy’s Road. Thence on Newton Road, thence on Hughes Road, at 3 PM. on Rogers Mill Road, thence on Wall’s Road at 5 o’clock on road near George Matthews.

On Friday the 20th at 8 AM. repairs on Lower Freetown Road, thence near Ross’ Corner at 10 AM. on road to Wilmot Creek Bridge, thence repairing road to Henry MacCaulls, at 1 RM. Repairs to Lower Back Freetown Road at 2 RM. on Old Malpeque Road and at 4 RM. putting rail on bridge near Lawrence Malones.

June 9, 1898 William F. Taylor Supervisor District No. 8

William F. Taylor was Mrs. Albert Stetson ’s Grandfather, and lived where Grant MacDonald resides in 1985.

THE HORSE AND BUGGY DAYS In the days when these districts were first settled, the people travelled on cow paths through the woods. When the people of Lots 25 and 26 went to church in Malpeque, for instance, the custom was for some members of a family to start off walking while others would start off on horseback. The latter would go a distance on horseback then tie the horse to a tree and start walking. Those who had started on foot would come along, untie the horse, and ride for a stretch. In this way all the members of the family would walk and ride equal distances.

Eventually churches were built closer to Freetown and roads improved. The first invention for travelling these roads was the “buckboard”: a two wheeled vehicle somewhat like the sulky used in modern harness racing but much cruder. Then a four wheeled wagon called the “surrey’ came into existence. These were open with no top, and came in two types: one-seaters for two people and two—seaters for four people or more children. Most of these vehicles used one horse to haul them but some employed a team of horses. As late as 1925 you could have seen people coming down the main Freetown Road in their surreys — especially on a Sunday, going to and from Church and Mass.

Freetown Village. MacCaull‘buildings in background.

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