The community will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of its landmark pedestrian railway bridge this August.
Minto’s business and economic manager Belinda Wick-Graham presented council with plans for the Aug. 10 to 12 celebration which will mark the milestone of the town’s railway heritage.
“The Palmerston Lions Club are the lead group in presenting the one-hundredth anniversary of the Palmerston railway bridge,” she told council at its June 18 meeting.
The project is funded through the federal Department of Canadian Heritage Building Communities through Arts and Heritage Fund with assistance from the town, the CNRA Lawn Bowlers of Palmerston and TG Minto.
Assistance has also been pledged by the Minto Optimist Club, Palmerston Farmers’ Market, Palmerston Downtown Revitalization Committee and Palmerston Railway Heritage Museum.
The weekend will see a wide range of events, including historical rail exhibits, unveiling of railway heritage murals depicting railway themes and, on Friday, evening music by Robin Rich Trio jazz band.
Events will also include handcar and jigger demonstrations and railway history storytellers and showings of railway history videos at the Norgan Theatre. The weekend will also feature food vendors.
Wick-Graham said organizers are still looking for more sponsors to assist with financing.
Palmerston has a long railway heritage. Towering over the town, the Palmerston Pedestrian Bridge is a symbol of that heritage.
“In 1910 the Grand Trunk Railway Company was ordered by the Railroad Commissioners of Canada to build a pedestrian bridge across the rail yard to join both sides of the town,” a history on the palmerstonpedestrianbridge.com website states. “It was opened in August 1912, and allowed west-side school children to safely cross the rail yard’s 12 sets of track to reach their school on the east.
“For its first 50 years, every child and adult pedestrian using the bridge witnessed Palmerston’s key industry – the railway at work. Now, after 100 years of uninterrupted service, pedestrians continue to use the bridge to cross the yard even though train traffic ended in 1992 and most of the tracks have been removed,” the history states.
The bridge is the only one of its kind in Ontario. The town designated the bridge as being of architectural and historical value in 2010.
Mayor George Bridge said he expects the celebration will draw large crowds.
Wick-Graham said there is no charge to attend most events during the celebration.
