http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Cummings_Bridge_Ottawa_1896.jpg/350px-Cummings_Bridge_Ottawa_1896.jpg
After
Beautiful but ...
The first Cummings Bridge, erected in 1836, linked Bytown and Gloucester. The bridge crossed the Rideau River, via the island lying just south of today's bridge, where the Cummings family lived and ran a general store. A community called Cummings Bridge sprang up in the surrounding area. This community would eventually become known as Vanier.
The early wooden bridge was replaced first by the Cummings family (who charged a toll for the new bridge) and again later by Ottawa lumberman (and later mayor) Samuel Bingham in 1893. In thanks for Bingham's investment, the City renamed the bridge after him. However, angry community residents tore down the name plaque and threw it in the river. As a result, we still know the bridge as Cummings Bridge.
Today's bridge, built in 1921, is the bridge's fourth incarnation. In the summer, you can often spot Ottawa's royal swans from the bridge or the nearby banks of the Rideau River.
taken from :
http://capitalneighbourhoods.ca/english/sandy-hill/story-266.aspx
The bridge promoted the migration of working-class families from Bytown to what became Vanier. At the beginning of the 19th century, the lumber industry was a catalyst for the development of the region. The soon-to-be capital needed food as well as products and services from the surrounding countryside. Originally, Vanier had an agricultural calling, with many gardeners and farmers settling in the area.
The Cummings were located on an ideal site. First, they opened a general store to serve pioneering families from Junction Gore, the area that encompassed the headland at the junction of the Rideau and Ottawa rivers. Under the management of Robert Cummings, eldest son and heir of the family business, the store flourished and rapidly became a regional supply centre. Gradually, Robert Cummings diversified his activities and began to manufacture horse-drawn carriages. His general store was also the only one to hold a post office and, later, the only telephone service in town. As a prominent citizen, he was involved in local politics for almost 50 years.
After 1845, both the population and traffic rapidly increased in the region. Robert Cummings undertook the construction of a second, stronger wooden bridge. He collected a toll from its users. The City of Ottawa built a metal bridge in the early 1890s to meet more adequately the needs of the community. Much more than a link between the two shores, Cummings Bridge allowed the continued development of businesses in Janeville, Clandeboye and Clarkstown.
The Island Today…
Around 1920, the City of Ottawa decided to build a new bridge on the Rideau River a dozen metres to the north of Cummings Island. The new bridge, which no longer spanned the island, nevertheless kept the name of Cummings Bridge. In 1922, the City of Ottawa bought the island and demolished the general store of the Cummings. No one has inhabited the island since. The only architectural remains on the island are the bridge pillars built in 1890. In the 1990s, the municipal council of Vanier proposed to acquire the island and rebuild the general store to create a local heritage site, but the plan never materialized.
Taken from : http://www.museoparc.ca/circuitvanier/circuit-vanier-2/montreal-road-circuit/cummings-island/
No comments:
Post a Comment