Ontario Highway 19 - History

History

The history of Highway 19 dates back to 1849, when the Baldwin Act and the Act to Authorize Formation of Joint Stock Companies were passed. George Tillson, his sons and his brother-in-law Benjamin Van Norman were the principal stockholders of the Ingersoll and Port Burwell Road Company, which they formed along with approximately 200 shareholders in September 1849. Proceeding quickly, the company established eight toll booths along the new route, which became known as the Plank and Gravel Road due to the materials with which it was constructed.

However, the greed of toll road operators resulted in diminishing upkeep, which forced the province to enact legislature allowing counties to assume ownership of the roads. It took until 1907 for Oxford County to assume the toll road; the proprietors were compensated with $15,500.

The gradual implementation of various legislation over the following decade allowed many counties to vastly improve roads under their jurisdiction. By the time the Department of Highways (DHO) assumed the road from Highway 3 in Tillsonburg to Highway 2 in Ingersoll on March 12, 1930 as King's Highway 19, it was once again a gravel road. A year later, on May 27, 1931, the highway was extended north from Woodstock to Shakespeare. As a result of this, a concurrency with Highway 2 was created between Ingersoll and Woodstock. Several months later, on July 1, the department assumed the remainder of the Ingersoll to Port Burwell Road, extending Highway 19 south of Tillsonburg.

As part of a depression relief program, the DHO and Department of Labour undertook several projects in 1933 and 1934, one of which included the Stratford to Tralee Road. On July 4, 1934, the DHO assumed the road as part of Highway 19. To remedy the discontinuity, a 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) concurrency with Highway 7 was established. At this point, Highway 19 had grown from its original length of 25.1 kilometres (15.6 mi) to 148.4 kilometres (92.2 mi).

The route remained unchanged until the early 1960s, when several highways were renumbered. Highway 19 between Woodstock and Shakespeare was redesignated as Highway 59, while Highway 100 between Thamesford and St. Marys was redesignated as Highway 19. The concurrencies with Highway 2 and Highway 7 were relocated as a result of this renumbering; Highway 19 became concurrent with Highway 2 between Ingersoll and Thamesford, and with Highway 7 between St. Marys and Stratford. While the length of the route was reduced insignificantly as a result of this renumbering, it became more direct.

Between then and 1997, no changes were made to Highway 19. On April 1, 1997, the section from Highway 3 south to Port Burwell was transferred to Elgin County, Oxford County and Haldimand–Norfolk. This was followed by a second round of transfers on January 1, 1998, which resulted in the section north of Highway 401 being decommissioned and assumed by Oxford County and Perth County.

Today, the majority of the Port Burwell to Tillsonburg segment is designated as Elgin County Road 19. A short segment in Haldimand–Norfolk and Oxford County immediately south of Tillsonburg is still designated as Highway 19, but is both signed and maintained as a county road. The Ingersoll to St. Marys segment is now known as Oxford County Road 119, while the segment north of Stratford is designated as Perth County Road 119 through Brunner, then Perth County Road 131 through Milverton.