I started reading “History of Perth County to 1967”, and it is fascinating reading. In 1827, the area west of Wilmot Township was unsettled and populated by trees. The Canada Company purchased 1,000,000 acres with the intent to settle. One of the first surveyed roads (at that time, just a path hacked through the bush) is still the present day Hwy 7/8 from New Hamburg to Goderich. The intent was to settle the entire area, but because of its location on Lake Huron and the importance of water in trade, Goderich and the surrounding are was settled first. In 1831, Samuel Strickland writes in “Twenty Years in Canada West” , that in travelling the 60 miles of trail back to the vicinity of New Hamburg, there were only 3 encounters with human habitation; Van Egmond’s tavern near Seaforth, Andrew Seebach’s tavern between Mitchell and Sebringville, and the inn kept by Sebastion Fryfogel between Shakespeare and New Hamburg. I was aware of these places, but did not realize their significance and importance in 19th century travel.