Teams of oxen, led by teamsters, hauling carts of goods for the people of Chester Basin and beyond.

 They came from New Ross.

 They came for more than 100 years. From New Ross to Chester Basin and then back again.

 On August 14 to August 15, the past once again came to life and the journey was completed for the very last time as part of Chester Basin's 250th anniversary celebrations.

 "This exceeded my expectations," said Glenda Redden, Chester Basin's 250th Anniversary Society chairwoman. "Everybody did what they were supposed to do. It was all about the co-operation.

 "All the pieces came together like clockwork."

 In the late 1800s, early 1900s, the round trip from Chester Basin to New Ross, perhaps the most important land link for both communities, took an average of three days.

 The trips were made by the locally renowned New Ross Freighters, also known as the teamsters.

 Chester Basin was a key entry point from the sea inland to New Ross and to other points along the way.

 Using teams of oxen, the New Ross Freighters travelled regularly between the two communities (a 25-kilometre or 15-mile, one-way trip) transporting barrels, lumber, ships' timbers, cordwood, farm products (butter, eggs, vegetables, apples), knitted items (socks and mittens) and the like to Chester Basin.

 These items were either used locally or were shipped out on the many coasters (small sailing vessels which travelled to ports along the coast).

 In return, the New Ross Freighters transported goods inland, such as furniture, stoves, books, farming tools and many other items.

 Without the New Ross Freighters, both New Ross and Chester Basin, not to mention other Nova Scotia communities, would have had to do without a lot of the things we take for granted today.

 "All the partners, the RCMP, Ross Farm, the society, the teamsters, the communities, they made this happen," Ms Redden said. "Without them, there is no re-enactment."

 As mentioned before, a round trip took about three days, the average walking speed was three kilometres an hour, with overnight stops at one of the four-way stations (as the inns were known) along the route.

 One of those stations, in Chester Grant, now know as Morrison House, was used as a way station in the 1880s.

 The charge for a room and breakfast, which included housing the animals (usually oxen, but sometimes horses) was 10 cents per night.

 In an effort to make the trip easier, the route was divided into sections. Those sections were given such labels as Russells Burnt Land, Watering Brook Hill at Water Lake, Oak Hill (top), Lily Pond and Hand Wash Brook, Cross, Pratts or Mill Hill, Elliot's Flat (centre) and Johnsons Cut.

 This summer's ceremonial trip, made with three teams of oxen, ended in Chester Basin at the government wharf when the cargo was loaded onto the Tancook whaler Amos H. Stevens, a ship belonging to the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.

 Deemed a strong success by organizers, the event saw about 500 people view it at some point between New Ross and Chester Basin.

 The boat left the wharf, a ceremonial effort, then returned to the dock where the cargo was sold to the public.

 "The response to those barrels, which all were stamped with our logo, was tremendous," Ms. Redden said. "People were lined up to buy."

 It's something they should hold on to, too, she added.

 "I don't see this happening again," Ms Redden said. "I just don't. It was three years of detailed planning and I mean detailed. We had to make sure everything was accounted for."