A major highway that was to start in Kings County and run through the Annapolis Valley may have had a military purpose, says Canning historian Ivan Smith. After examining information published in this column on the Six Rod Road and searching various government websites, Smith concludes that the highway may have been conceived to facilitate troop movement.

“I’m developing a theory about the Six Rod Road; that it was planned as a defense against invasion by the United States,” Smith writes. “In the (material) I sent to you last week the earliest reference is dated 1854. This was just 40 years after the end of the War of 1812, when the USA tried to conquer all of British North America (and came closer to succeeding than seems to be now realized).

“In the 1850s there must have been considerable concern, even anxiety, that the USA might try again to invade British North America. From the point of view of the US government, the 1850s was a good time for such a venture. Britain was distracted by serious difficulties in Europe and Asia –the Crimean War 1853-56 and the Great Indian Mutiny of 1857 were symptoms of the serious problems then faced by Britain in far-away lands.

“There were several attempts to assassinate Queen Victoria: one in 1840, three in 1842, one in 1849, and one in 1850. In the 1850s the British government was very sensitive to the real possibility of another, possibly successful, attempt. All by itself, this was a significant distraction.

“The very serious Oregon Boundary Dispute of 1849 is an indication of the deep antagonism felt by many on both sides. In 1848-49, anti-British feeling in the United States was running high over the Oregon Boundary problem. Great Britain and the United States were close to outright war. The Astor Place riot erupted on May 10, 1849, in New York City. Before it was over, 23 people were dead and dozens more were wounded. Anti-British sentiment was a significant factor in triggering the riot. There was a strong feeling among many US citizens that the time had come to conquer the vast territory on their northern border.

“Taking all this together, it seems clear that, in the late 1840s and early 1850s, powerful people in the US government were conscious that now was a great opportunity to invade British North America. If they started by taking Nova Scotia, they could block any reinforcements sent from Britain and then could conquer New Brunswick, and Lower and Upper Canada, at their leisure

“Of course, the government and military authorities of Britain and Nova Scotia knew all about this. It seems to me the Six Rod Highway could have been planned as a way to get soldiers quickly and in force from Halifax to Annapolis, if there was an invasion.

“Might it be argued that if the US had not itself been distracted by the very serious internal disputes in the 1850s over slavery and its extension to the new western territories of Kansas and Nebraska that led in 1861 to the US Civil War, they would likely have mounted an invasion of British North America?”

Mr. Smith concludes that this “is all supposition,” adding that “it is interesting to note that the last Nova Scotia budget item mentioning the Six Rod Highway is dated 1858. After that year there was no need to defend Nova Scotia against a possible invasion from the United States.”

“Hemp and Marijuana are both in the Cannabis family, but hemp seed do not contain the psychoactive compound, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), that Marijuana does. Hemp is grown for industrial purposes; food, fiber and fuel. This is why hemp is legal and marijuana is not.”

I found this explanation of the difference between hemp and marijuana in various websites devoted to natural foods. Several of the sites called hemp a “historical plant” and an important crop in colonial days. This is an understatement, as I found after digging through websites and history books. From the Acadians to the Planters, the growing of hemp for various uses was often vital if these early colonists wanted to survive; hemp was so important a crop that settlers apparently had to agree to cultivate it as one of the conditions for receiving a land grant.

Actually, when it comes to the history of hemp, Nova Scotia has a special claim. “Hemp has a long history in the Annapolis Valley,” says an advertising brochure promoting the health benefits of the plant’s unique oil. The hemp crop was considered so essential, the brochure reads, that (in 1768) “new settlers were required to ‘plant two acres… with hemp and to keep up the same or a like quantity of acres planted during successive years’.”

While it’s true that early settlers, the Planters for example, were required to plant hemp, it was cultivated in the province long before the 1768 date given in the brochure. On a website on the industrial use of hemp I found the following: “In 1606, French Botanist Louis Hebert planted the first hemp crop in North America in Port Royal, Acadia (present-day Nova Scotia).” Several other historical references confirm the 1606 date and mention that hemp was one of the crops grown by the Acadians

The same website notes that “as that early as 1801, the Lieutenant Governor of the province of Upper Canada, on behalf of the King of England, distributed hemp seed free to Canadian farmers. Hemp became the first crop to be subsidized…” Another reference said that Nova Scotia is believed to be the first place in North America where hemp was introduced. Yet another source says that it was “European hemp” that was introduced and hemp was growing here in the wilds when the first colonists arrived and was being used by the natives.

On the Planters being required to grow hemp as a grant condition, Eaton in his Kings County history confirms this and gives the details. Eaton’s work has the full text of the first grant in the township of Cornwallis, which as well as naming the grantees, spells out their obligations. “Each of the said grantees obliges and binds himself, his heirs and assigns to plant, cultivate, improve or enclose one third part of the land thereby granted, within ten years.” Further the grantees were required to “plant within ten years… two acres of the said land with hemp, and to keep up the same or a like quantity of the acres planted during the successive years.”

Our historical hemp has gone modern, by the way, and can be found in a variety of health products and cosmetics. Several local stores sell hemp seed oil, hemp nut butter, and hemp seed nuts. Log on to www.manitobaharvest.com for more on hemp oil.

“Elusive certainly is an appropriate adjective (when referring to the Six Rod Road)” Canning Internet historian Ivan Smith writes. Smith, who has a massive website devoted to Nova Scotia history, was commenting on a recent column about my search for information on the little-known road.

Smith wrote that the road “is not imaginary” and, in fact, he found a couple of references to it in government documents recently. “This morning I stumbled on several references to this road – actually the Six Rod Highway – in documents produced by the Nova Scotia Legislature in the 1850s,” Smith wrote. “All of these are expenditures for a highway in Kings County.”

Smith noted that the government designation of the road as being in the six rod class signifies it was an important highway. As I mentioned previously, the road apparently was planned as a major thoroughfare connecting then vital ports on the Minas Basin and Bay of Fundy, either to facilitate commercial traffic and/or to be of military use. It appears that the road was only partially completed.

Getting back to Smith’s observation that designation of the old road as six rod signified its importance, he explains that the “width of roads is carefully defined in the laws of every jurisdiction with responsibility for streets, roads, and highways, from the municipal level to the provinces (and states) and the federal government.

“The legally-required width for right-of-way for roads and highways is often defined as 99 feet. Six rods is defined as 99 feet. A Google search on the Internet this morning turned up repeated references to roadway widths of 99 feet, from Robert Moses’ plan for highways in New York in the 1920s to official standards for land surveyors in Alberta in the 1990s.

“The term ‘six rods’ and ‘three rods’ still appears in modern legal documents dealing with roadway widths. It is clear that a highway planned in the 1850s to be six rods wide was meant to be an important artery. At the time, roads two rods wide were often considered adequate, and three rods were better than average.”

Mr. Smith enclosed several documents – the journal and proceedings of the House of Assembly – designating funds allocated for highway repairs in Kings County. The documents show that in 1854 some eight pounds was allocated “for to open the Six Rod Highway, from road passing Hemming Pents Mill.” From the 1854-55 journal and proceedings are two mentions of the road, each allocating five pounds. One reads, “Open to six rod highway to Hemming’s road to Pent’s mill road,” the other, “Pent saw mill road, to open up the six rod highway.” Also from the 1856 House of Assembly records is the entry, “to open the six rod highway from Hemmings,” with six pounds being allocated. The 1857 House of Assembly records also indicate funds being allocated for work on the six rod road.

With these references to Hemmings and Pent’s Mill it should be possible to discover where at least part of the six rod road ran through here. However, I could find no mention of Pent’s Mill or the Pent and Hemming surnames in the 1864 Church map or in Eaton’s Kings County history. The search continues, however.

When I wrote about the early history of this area recently I expected readers to point out that Kings County once was several times larger than it is now. In other words, my early glimpses of Kings County were actually sketches of what now are several counties.

Kings County was one of the original five divisions of Nova Scotia and it sprawled along the Valley floor west to Annapolis County, also one of the original divisions; the county then went easterly to take in what is now Hants County, and across Minas Basin to take in Parrsboro. Lunenburg County, another original division, was the border on the south side, and Halifax County, also an original divison, was the other border.

The boundaries of Kings, Halifax, Lunenburg, Cumberland and Annapolis County were set circa 1759. In August of 1759, the Governor and Council of Nova Scotia decided that calling one of the five areas Kings County would express loyalty to King George. One of the maps I have shows the province divided into the five divisions with Kings extending north across the Bay of Fundy, or more properly, across Minas Channel.

Kings County would remain giant-size for just over two decades. In 1871 the residents of the most easterly area of Kings County asked the government to create a separate county; in their petition to government, the residents said in effect that the shiretown of Kings was too distant for them to conduct municipal business, pay taxes, etc. Besides, it was inconvenient having to cross the Avon River, the residents on its easterly side being at the mercy of the tides. A separate county was thus created, named it is believed after a county in England called South Hampton or Hampshire and abbreviated to Hants.

While Kings County was declared a county in 1759, its actual borders were rather nebulous and not clearly defined. It wasn’t until after Hants County was created from part of Kings County that the government made an effort to clearly define the lines that separated Kings from Hants and kings from Annapolis County. The township of Parrsboro was cut off from Kings County in 1840.

As one of the original divisions of the province, Annapolis County, like Kings, was also massive. As Kings went, so went Annapolis County. In 1833 the residents of Annapolis County petitioned the government to divide the area into two distinct districts. Eventually, the government complied, in 1837 dividing the area into Annapolis and Digby County.

Halifax County was eventually whittled away as well. In 1835, Halifax County was divided. In that year the counties of Colchester and Pictou were created out of sections of what had been Halifax County. The other original county was divided as well, Queens County created circa 1762 from part of Lunenburg County.

In 1950 The Advertiser published a history of Habitant, written by Ira L. Cox, remembered as a local historian who penned articles about the early days of northern Kings County. In his history Mr. Cox traced early land grants in this area, noting that originally the area “seemed to be divided among four individuals” with the surnames of Loomer, Cox, MacKenzie and Wickwire.

Describing these grants, Cox has the distinction of being the only historian I could discover who acknowledged the existence of a mysterious Kings County road. Several years ago I mentioned in this column that a great road was conceived connecting the Minas Basin with points farther west and with Bay of Fundy ports.

The Six Rod Road is part of the oral folklore of Kings County. Old-timers still talk about it, and there are references in property deeds and various legal documents; there’s even the likelihood that some of the great road was laid and is extant today, incorporated in some cases in existing roads or remaining as overgrown trails skirting various communities or running through private property.

But despite the folklore and some written evidence indicating that parts of the Six Rod Road were probably constructed, no official records have been found confirming there was such a highway, or when it was planned and started, and by whom. For example, local historian Leon Barron has scanned countless government documents and sessional papers of the 19th and early 20th century and has yet to find mention of the road.

As I said, Ira L. Cox is the first historian I could find who mentions the road. In describing the four original Habitant land grants, Cox writes that the six rod road marks the northern boundaries of them. “These grants of lands extended from the (Habitant) river on the south,” Cox writes, “to what is still known as the six-rod-highway, on the north.”

I first heard of the Six Rod Road from Leon Barron and after mentioning it a couple of times in this column (column 1, column2, column3), I’ve come up with various tidbits of information. I suppose it isn’t important to put together a history of the road since it was only one of various insignificant byways and trails that were once in use here. However, as an old friend used to say about seemingly trivial things, it would be “nice to know.”

I’d like to hear from any readers aware of folklore or documentation regarding the road. In the meanwhile, here’s some of the information I’ve collected to date:

From Leon Barron, folklore passed on from people of his father’s generation that the road’s terminal was Kingsport and it purpose was both military and commercial. This folklore has it that the road would connect the Minas Basin with Bay of Fundy ports.

From Barron and Lewis Hazel that some of the Rabbit Square Road and the road called the Dill Branch, both roughly north or north-west of Canning, are part of the Six Rod Road. Hazel, who worked on Kings County roads and has an intimate knowledge of some of the older tracts, told me the Six Rod Road was supposed to have run west to Annapolis.

From Mildred Elliott that the deed to their property mentions the road in describing the boundaries of their land. From Blaine North that the driveway of his property near Canning is part of the Six Rod Road; the old road ran through his property, North says, and traces are still visible.

You can’t escape its influence if you dwell in Kings County. In one way or another, it affects your daily comings and goings, your subsistence, your recreation, the way you think, talk and to some degree, your mindset and possibly even you’ll have for Sunday dinner.

The dykelands have had a benign influence and have shaped our social fabric and our history in many ways way in the centuries they’ve been holding back the sea. One example alone will suffice to sufficiently illustrate what I mean. The 18th-century movement of Planters to Kings County – would the Planters have come if the dykelands wrested from the sea by the Acadians hadn’t been a major attraction?

Perhaps Esther Clark Wright best summed up the dykelands influence on our lives in her delightful little book, Blomidon Rose. Clarke wrote that the dykes have “had a share in making us what we are. They are part of our inheritance from the past, a legacy from our fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers who laboured to build and preserve, a legacy from other early settlers, unrelated and unknown, who also toiled on the dykes.”

However, if you truly wish to understand how we have been influenced by the dykes and how they came to be, I recommend the reading of Brent Fox’s history of the Canard River dyke system. The Advertiser‘s assistant editor and political columnist, Fox, who has an M. A. in history, wrote the dyke work in 1985 when he was with the Kings Historical Society. As well as dyke records kept by the Wellington Dyke Body, Fox researched the Chipman papers on file at the Nova Scotia Archives. As an aside, Fox tells me when he the Chipman paper, he found these invaluable records were kept in cardboard boxes and were in terrible condition.

Fox starts his history with a geographical description of the Canard River system and in-depth explanation of how the Acadians constructed their dykes and aboiteaus. It’s difficult to imagine that with so few tools so little manpower and beasts of burden the Acadians could accomplish anything at all. But accomplish they did, starting a dykeing system that was maintained for generations and has lasted for centuries.

The Acadians began dykeing the Canard River system by first claiming about 40 acres by “aboiteauing the Sheffield Creek, a small tributary that runs south into the upper river area.” If you drive north on Nichols Road and pass through Upper Dyke heading to Canning, you have to pass this first work by the Acadians and it’s still visible. Less visible is the first aboiteau on the Canard River near Aldershot Camp in Steam Mill. Fox writes that this site was abandoned and an aboiteau built farther down river where the highway bridge spans the Canard by the sewer lagoon.

Fox then takes us along the Canard River and the Acadian construction of various smaller aboiteaus on Canard River tributaries. Then came a major work, the “cross-dyke at the site of the present Middle Dyke Road bridge.” Other dykeing and aboiteau work followed until the area along Canard River was a rich agricultural area that must have attracted a lot of outside interest.

Eventually, the work of the Acadians led to the building of the grandest dyke of all, the Wellington. How the efforts of the Acadians and their legacy of the dykelands influenced our history and the way we live and work today is well told by Brent Fox. His book, in paperback, is available at the Kings County Museum.