2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Cameron Shelley)
We tend to think of bridges primarily as infrastructure that connects two places otherwise separated, and so they are. However, they can also be places in their own right, points of navigation, scenic landmarks or even gathering places. This was certainly true of the Dundas Road bridge (today the Gordon Street bridge).
Consider the arrival of the John B. Doris Circus in Guelph on July 16, 1885. The whole kit and caboodle arrived by train and set up its tents on the open ground known as the “Dundas Bridge flats” (also the “fields” or the “common”).
The flats were situated on the north bank of the Speed River, extending from the bridge toward Edinburgh Road — part of today’s Royal City Park. They were often used for a variety of important events, such as a visit from a travelling circus. As usual, there was a parade of circus entertainers and attractions through the city to drum up interest.
An account in the Toronto Globe (June 20) provides an informative description: “The Mammoth Fifty Cage Menagerie, comprising the largest and most varied collection of rare wild beasts, etc., received from all quarters of the globe, making one of the grandest zoological institutes travelling. The grand Gigantean Three-Ring Circus is comprised of all the leading excellence, equestrians, equestriennes, ten celebrated clowns, gymnasts, leapers, fourteen real brawny Turks, troupe of French bicycle riders, leapers, tumblers, acrobats, Siberian roller skaters, Japanese equilibrists, etc.
” The excitement must have been palpable! Detail of a John B. Doris Circus ad in 1885, featuring Six Siberian Roller Skaters. The first Dundas Road bridge was built in 1828 to connect the one-year-old settlement of Guelph by road with Dundas to the south.
This bridge was built by Jehu Clark, an Englishman who had arrived in the village only a few months earlier. He subsequently ran a farm nearby, then moved into town to set up a tannery. Around 1871, he retired to a cottage that he had built on Water Street, whose location was described in the town directory as “over the Dundas Bridge,” a common way of referring to addresses south of the Speed River.
Unfortunately, no picture of Clark or his bridge seem to survive. The second Dundas Road bridge was built in 1849 by Richard Ainley. Originally from Yorkshire, Ainley moved to Guelph in 1831 and remained there the rest of his life.
He was a carpenter and lumber merchant who had a number of good commissions to his credit, including Guelph’s first purpose-built store in 1842. Later in life, he lived in a comfortable estate known as “Crescent Vale” on Norfolk Street (in the vicinity of today’s public library main branch), which featured a “commodious” brick house and a fruit garden with upwards of 100 fruit trees of all descriptions, including pears, apples and cherries. Construction of the new bridge was perhaps prompted by improvements made to the Dundas Road starting in 1848.
The original road was notorious for the slow and bone-jarring ride it afforded. The new macadamized (paved) surface greatly facilitated travel to the south and called for an improved bridge to match. However, improvements to the Dundas Road were funded through toll payments, with a tolling station being set up at what is now the corner of Gordon Street and College Avenue.
Inevitably, the toll proved unpopular with road users and the toll was often honoured more in the breach than the observance. One response to the situation was the construction of , to bypass the Dundas Road. Detail of “Map, Town of Guelph, 1862.
” The Dundas Road flats extended on the north bank of the Speed from the bridge (right) to Edinburgh Road (left). On the whole, however, the Dundas bridge and its vicinity were much appreciated by the townsfolk. Curling matches were played in the winter on the frozen ice nearby and residents swam in the waters (often without proper attire, to the chagrin of authorities), fished from its banks and paddled from the boathouse.
With the continued growth of the Royal City, the old bridge came to the end of its lifespan and was replaced. But that is a story for another column..
