 In 1784 , following the American Revolution , the United Empire Loyalists began to arrive in Upper Canada , hoping to settle the frontier near Cataraqui ( now Kingston ) . With the help of the military , the loyalists blazed a trail west from Cataraqui to Bath , a distance of 25 kilometres ( 16 mi ) . This trail would become a section of Highway 33 nearly 150 years later . 
