Skip to main content

Lyndhurst Bridge

Image
By
Ontario's oldest surviving bridge is located in the picturesque village of Lyndhurst, in the eastern part of the province. Constructed in 1857 over the Gananoque River, some 10 years prior to Canadian Confederation, the Lyndhurst Bridge is a beautiful and traditionally designed three arch bridge made of local field stone and local Nepean sandstone. The Lyndhurst Bridge was designed and constructed by local residents. While the bridge was built by Miles Fulford and Simon Ransom, the bridge was designed by an employee of a local mill owner, Scottish native John Donald Roddick, who came to Lyndhurst about 1853. It is said that the design of the Lyndhurst Bridge is similar to older bridges that are in Scotland. Using local materials also meant that the bridge was able to use some local touches in the construction of the bridge, such as mill stones from local mill owner Henry Green for decoration.




Once the bridge was completed, it became the focal point of the Lyndhurst community, which was once home to five mills at the time the bridge was built. The arches of the bridge also divided the water rights between the mill owners, one of whom was John Donald Roddick. The Lyndhurst Bridge still is a focal point of Lyndhurst, and while traffic only holds one lane at a time, the bridge was strengthened in 1986 by the addition of a load bearing concrete slab inside the deck system. While this retrofitting relieves the bridge from having to bear the loads of traffic, but some engineering historians may not be thrilled that the arch no longer serves a functional purpose. The alteration is not visible to anyone since it is hidden under the deck, and it likely prevented the need for alterations to the stonework, which appears to retain its historic integrity. Today, local residents and curiosity seekers can enjoy the history and uniqueness of the oldest bridge in Ontario by taking a stroll across the bridge or viewing it from nearby Furnace Falls Park.

The story of the Lyndhurst Bridge in English.

... and in French.

Viewing the bridge from nearby Furnace Falls Park.

The bridge is one lane wide, and you can also spy the flared edge of the end of the bridge.

The stone work on the bridge itself looks quite long.
A close-up of the local stone used in the bridge's stonework. Using local stone meant not having to obtain stone from a far away quarry.

This bridge is indeed historic.

The surrounding village of Lyndhurst is also worth checking out. If you have some time to poke around town, it is certainly a charming place to visit.

The Green Gecko.

A home painted like gift wrap. I passed through a few weeks before Christmas, so this may be a fitting decoration.

This cairn is to remember the Lansdowne Iron Works, which was the first iron works located in Upper Canada. The Lansdowne Iron Works is a national historic site that opened in 1801, but was destroyed by fire in 1811. Not much remains of the iron works today.

Remains of a mill on the Gananoque River, just beyond the Lyndhurst Bridge.


How to Get There:


Sources and Links:
HistoricBridges.org - Lyndhurst Bridge
Frontenac Arch Biosphere - Lyndhurst Heritage Walking Tour
Ontario's Historical Plaques - The Lyndhurst Bridge
Ontario Beneath Our Feet - Lyndhurst Bridge
Ontario Heritage Trust - The Lyndhurst Bridge 
Labels:
Location: Lyndhurst, ON K0E, Canada

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

By
In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...
4 comments
Read more

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

By
The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process.  The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

By
"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.  Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents.  Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes.  When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood.  The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71.  The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...
Post a Comment
Read more