The Kinmount Bridge

By Guy Scott

The current bridge over the Burnt River is one of the hearts of the village. A bridge has always spanned the river at this point since 1858: literally before the founding of Kinmount. The latest bridge dates from 1957. By this date, the old log/wooden bridge built after the Great Collapse of 1905 was worn out. It was dangerous to cross. Keith Stata recalls his teacher “falling through” the rotten planking on the bridge’s pedestrian sidewalk and landing on the ice below! She broke her arm and Keith’s class got a few days off due to a wounded teacher.

The new bridge was constructed sometime later. It was a unique “truss design” and was built of steel and concrete. So sturdy was this new bridge, it lasts to this very day, 66 years later! The bridge has been extensively refurbished on several occasions. The main issue has been road salt rotting out the concrete, but the basic structure is still sound. The Kinmount bridge is a vital transportation link for many roads and carries a lot of traffic every day.

The opening of the new bridge was a time of celebration for the village. A marching band was brought in to lead a parade and an official opening ceremony was held on August 31, 1957.

A second edition:

One of the most important structures in Kinmount Village was the bridge over the Burnt River. The original structure, a pioneer log crib bridge was built in 1858. It stood on the current site and carried the Bobcaygeon Road northwards. Pioneer bridges were somewhat primitive and the heavy traffic along the Bobcaygeon Road soon wore out the first bridge. A newspaper article in 1877 complained that between lumber wagons, cadging for the lumber shanties and loads of iron ore from Furnace Falls, the bridge was worn out. A second wooden structure replaced the original bridge (much repaired over the years) in the 1880s. A court case about who would pay for this bridge followed. The Bobcaygeon Road was a county road between Victoria and Peterborough, so the costs were shared. But Peterborough argued the bridge lay entirely in Victoria, and they should not be libel for bridge costs. Nice try Peterborough, but it didn’t work. Once again heavy traffic soon wore out the second bridge and in 1905 the wooden deck of the bridge was so worn out that a herd of cattle, on their way to the Railway Station crashed through the floor and into the Burnt River. That meant a new bridge, this time made of iron and much more solid. The new “Iron Bridge” carried traffic over the Burnt River until 1958 when it too suffered a crash through the deck. This time it was not livestock, but one of the schoolteachers! It was winter, she landed on the ice and broke her arm. The replacement bridge was the current bridge, still spanning the Burnt 63 years later! (Although it must be added it has been “refurbished” a few times!)