It seemed appropriate that students from Palmerston Public and Norwell District Secondary were at the ceremony recognizing the community’s heritage since they were, in fact, the reason behind the bridge’s existence.
In explaining the history of the pedestrian bridge over the former rail yards, local historian Bob McEachern noted that Palmerston is unique Wellington County in that the railway existed before the town. Elsewhere, towns were established long before the railways came into being and, as a result, the railways are generally located on the edges of, or away from the centre of town.
However, Palmerston was founded as a result of the railway, and it runs through the centre of the community.
The community acted as a central depot for a number of rail lines and included a roundhouse to accommodate train repairs. McEachern said that in those early days, a decision was made to build the school on one side of the tracks despite much of the residential area being on the other side.
As a result, all rail traffic had to stop to allow the students back and forth to school in the mornings and afternoons.
McEachern said a tunnel was originally conceived, but ultimately, the bridge was constructed in 1912. He added that it is the longest pedestrian bridge of its kind in Ontario.
Minto Mayor David Anderson offered some history of the bridge, which has existed since the turn of the century.
“It’s been around for a lot of years.” He explained the bridge did get to a condition a few years ago where it needed a lot of infrastructure fixing.
Anderson said holes were appearing and the structure deemed unsafe. “As the town, we had to close it down because of insurance liability.”
He explained to the students that if someone had used the bridge and got hurt, the municipality would be held responsible.
“The cost of fixing this bridge was quite huge.” Because of that cost, he said the town, on its own could not afford the work without assistance.
Anderson said Perth-Wellington MPP John Wilkinson came to the rescue by helping the municipality secure provincial funds to keep the bridge in the community for another 75 years. The idea was to make it walkable and a highlight of the parkland redevelopment underway on the former railway lands.
The provincial government was asked for $500,000.
Anderson said those gathered were there to recognize that donation and the work accomplished and what the bridge means to the community. As well, an official plaque unveiling was held.
Wilkinson said one of the things that make local communities so wonderful “are the unique things we can be proud of. That’s what heritage is all about. They are the things our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents built and we are so proud of them, and we want to keep. There are some things worth keeping.”
He said the unique and magnificent structure will attract people from other communities.
Wilkinson said he believes it will become a drawing card to draw people to Palmerston.
He said it was the Ministry of Culture which ultimately allotted the funds.
However, Wilkinson is also looking forward to a visit from the Minister of Tourism, who is slated to visit next month to view the potential of Palmerston as a tourist draw for people throughout Ontario.
He expressed his gratitude to the volunteers within the community who have had the vision to transform the park.
Wilkinson said many communities would have simply viewed the area as a “brownfield” – a former industrial site – which would need to bulldozed or remediated into another use.
The bridge is one of the things that make the park different than any other part of Ontario. “It is important for young people to know our history,” Wilkinson said.
