Alphabet Belt



The Alphabet Belt refers to scattered developments in a linear shape along Highway 505. The belt was formerly part of the Alphabet County, and is now considered as part of the Golden Corridor of Gravenhurst Region. Historically, Alphabet County had its developments mostly scattered along the Alphabet Belt.

The Alphabet Belt is home to about 180,000 residents, about 2% the entire region's population.

The Alphabet Belt received its name since there are 52 developments along the 520 km corridor of Highway 505. The developments, starting from the east end counting to the west end, has a first letter beginning with A (on the east side), trending down the alphabet list, to Z (on the west side).

The Alphabet Belt begins east in Borden, and encompasses major towns and cities along the Highway 505 corridor including Caithness - Caledonia, Mapleview, and Topsity - Zephyr. Overwhelmingly, about 95% of the population of the belt reside in these major towns and cities.

It is noted that Borden is considered as part of the belt, but was never associated with the historical Alphabet County.

Highway 505 and the Golden Corridor Line serves as the backbone for the belt.

History
In the 1600s, the Alphabet Religion Activists began to set out west from the City of Borden, then the biggest city in the area, to spread their religion to the aboriginals living in the west side of the continent. As these activists spread across the west, they started up parishes and church communities every 10 km or so. Each development consists of two communities, each named with their corresponding alphabet. Each development is hosted by a priest, a nun, and residents spaces for those Aboriginals who want to live in the parish.

The trail that the activists made became what was Highway 5, which became Highway 505 when Alphabet County merged into Gravenhurst Region.

Current Status
Currently, a majority of the Alphabet Belt developments are vacant and are abandoned due to the "emigre" movement in the 1900s. Only a few of the developments thrived to major cities and towns, while other outposts either maintained their population due to their convenient location near major towns and cities, or wilted by population decline. Many of the developments have been abandoned from as early as the 1800s, and many of which had been re-taken by nature. If a visitor were to visit the site today, a visitor might not recognize the existence of such development back in the 1800s.

The Alphabet County Historical Monument is located at the exact geographic centre of the belt in Mapleview.

List of Developments
From east to west, bold implies a major city or town, Strikeouts implies the development had been abandoned.
 * '''Borden
 * Arithmetic
 * Caithness - Caledonia
 * Dever - Dovercourt
 * Eugene - Euridice
 * Fontinahas
 * Greenstone - Geraldton
 * Hawkesbury - Hutchison
 * Iliad - Inlet Bay
 * Jubliee - Josephstown
 * Kirkham - Kingston
 * Lacroix - Lansing
 * Lower Madison
 * Mapleview
 * Middletown ''(Now exist as a future housing project of Mapleview, formerly an independent municipality)
 * Nobleton - Nouveauville
 * Nazareth
 * Olympus - Opasatika
 * Pendamere - Parkville
 * Queenston - Lewiston
 * Rundell's Ravinebrook
 * Sheppard's Hut
 * Strathmore Lookout
 * Twin Rivers
 * Toronto
 * Upper Madison
 * Usher's Underhill
 * Valleyview - Varsity
 * Wallaceburg - Windsor
 * Xuliushan - Xujiang
 * Yoli - Yaritown
 * Topsity - Zephyr