The Batteau Railway
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The Batteau Railway is the story of the small wooden railway that was built by Asa Weller across the Quinte portage in 1793. It carried batteaux across the portage until the early 1820s when steamboats and decent roads changed travel habits.
The story follows the development of the three main families that were the first settlers on the portage, including Asa Weller's family, Robert Young's family across the road and the family of Robert Wilkins who settled at the east end of the portage. As the families grew, the community changed and evolved with the times. The War of 1812 was a hectic time with whole regiments crossing the portage, rushing to send troops, supplies and weapons to the armies fighting in the Niagara area. During the war, the Commissariat for the army was run by Robert Charles Wilkins in a large warehouse and office structure at the east end of the portage, south of the Wilkins home and trading post. After the war, an updated road and the advent of steamboats made the portage obsolete and the batteau railway was quickly dismantled and became a memory. No matter, very soon the stagecoach business linked up with steamboats and a new generation of merchants and businesses defined a new era. The village of Carrying Place is the result. |
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The Batteau Railway - Back Cover
