FROM THE ARCHIVES BY MARY WATSON

WASAGA’S BRIDGES

Van Vlack Bridge The first bridge to cross the Nottawasaga River in Wasaga Beach was a wooden structure known as the Van Vlack Bridge, which was built around 1872. It was located to the east of the existing Main Street Bridge and crossed at a sawmill site on the river’s edge. The bridge gave both residents and cottage owners access to the beach from Highway 92 (now Main Street) and use of the beachfront as a road. This bridge lasted into the early 1900’s, when it became apparent that the wood had decayed to the point where the bridge needed extensive and expensive repairs. Two wooden beams and metal spikes from the Van Vlack Bridge were retrieved from the river during a dredging process and can be seen at the Wasaga Beach Archives. A scale model of the Van Vlack Bridge was built by Brian Bermingham and is also located at the Archives.

Steel Street Bridge 1930’s

The replacement for the Van Vlack Bridge was located on the site of the present-day Main Street Bridge. The bridge was placed on the Flos and Sunnidale Town Line and was funded by the County. This bridge was constructed of steel and concrete and had a cement pier in the centre. The bridge had two very narrow lanes with a walkway on each side for pedestrians. People could now drive directly across the bridge onto Main Street (what is now the pedestrian mall area) and the beachfront. The location of this bridge contributed greatly to the creation of the Main Street area and the many wonderful seasonal shops and stores. The bridge opened in 1909 and remained in existence until the late 1950’s.

Main Street Bridge 1960’s

As the steel bridge deteriorated in the late 1950’s, talks began between Town Council and the Province to consider building a wider bridge. It was generally agreed that the Province should be involved due to the influx of summer tourists to the beachfront, which was maintained by the Department of Lands and Forests as it was then known. With Provincial funding finally in place, the Main Street Bridge was constructed and officially opened on October 4, 1961, with the Hon. F.M. Cass of the Department of Highways attending. Some of the steel and concrete from the original bridge was salvaged and used to build a large boathouse along the river, as well as the bridge that connects property on River Road West to an island just east of the Schoonertown Bridge.

Schoonertown Bridge 1976 As Wasaga Beach grew, many residents who lived in what was locally called the Oxbow Loop area were fed up with having to drive all the way down River Road West to cross the Main Street Bridge. A good two miles of travel would be wasted each way if one wanted to shop at any of the stores at the Main End and Mosley Street, or to drive to Collingwood. After many meetings and discussions, the Provincial Government agreed to fund the construction of a new bridge further west to better serve Wasaga’s residents. The new bridge crossed the Nottawasaga River just west of Wasaga Marine to the site of an 1812-era military fort known as Schoonertown or Fort Nottawasaga (now the Schoonertown Parkette). The sod turning for the new bridge took place on August 26, 1975 and the bridge was built by Inverleigh Construction. The Schoonertown Bridge was officially opened on September 6, 1976 with dignitaries such as MPP George McCague, MP Dr. Gus Mitges, Hon. Darcy McKeough, MPP Art Evans, Warden Orville Hughes, and of course Town Council members attending. Once this bridge was opened, local residents began to call the Main Street Bridge the “old” bridge, and the Schoonertown Bridge the “new” bridge. Although both bridges are formally

signed with their proper names, those nicknames are still used today by many Wasaga residents. First printed in the “Wasaga Sun” on 22Oct08