The Hastings Road
This road was begun in 1854 as part of a network of "Colonization Roads" planned by the government to open the southern fringe of the Precambrian Shield to settlement. Under the supervision of Robert Bird, construction began at the northern boundary of Madoc Township and within a year 65 km of summer road had been build northward to a point near present-day Bancroft. The road, when completed, was about 160 km in length. The free-grant lots along its course were quickly taken up but poor soil prevented the development of a prosperous agriculture settlement. When the decline of lumbering in the region removed a market for produce and a source of employment, the settlers abandoned their farms and the road fell into disuse.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.