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Klondyke Road

Location: Iona

Uphill and down, the Klondyke cuts a sturdy swath through a border of sugar maple, birch and spruce. Foxes, raccoons and hares have a secure corridor amid the trees and lower vegetation as they scurry from one woodland thicket to another. In the early 1900s, sawmills and several homesteads were located here. Colonel Weatherbie, known in military circles as the "Father of Canadian Munitions" due to his expertise in that field, was the last settler to live on the road. His homestead, now abandoned, was once a welcome retreat where visitors enjoyed both the beautiful flower gardens and the musical talent of the family. The 1920s and 30s set the scene for another activity - rumrunners, under cover of darkness, would steal along the road, hiding their contraband in a secure place. A rag tied to a tree indicated the location. Location: For 4.9 km the Klondyke road travels roughly in an east west direction from the Selkirk Road (Rte. 23) south of Iona, to the Murray Harbour Road (Rte. 24).