60 ' A Bridge To The Past

Rebuilding Blueshank Road 192].

Road machine hauled by four teams of horses. Harold Day house in background, formerly Thomas Barwise.

The building of a bridge across the Wilmot River has always been a big undertaking and a real event in the community. The largest bridge that spans this river is called the Red Bridge and is located in the neighboring district of Wilmot. Probably the first tender called for this bridge was the one that appeared in a newspaper on November 29, 1825 and read: “For making a bridge over Wilmot Creek.”

Locally the notice that caught the eye of workers who were capable of doing this type of work was the one that was printed in June, 1826 and called for tenders, “For the building of a bridge on the road leading from the school to North Bedeque.”

The approaches to the bridge were almost as important as the bridge itself and the contract called for certain materials, such as solid pole work, etc, to be used in construction.

The early wooden bridges had to be replanked from time to time, no great problem with a saw mill nearby. Each new bridge had to be a little stronger and a little wider than its predecessor to handle the increasingly heavy traffic. A sign posted near a bridge in a scene of long ago reads: “Walk your horses and save your fine of $20.” but it is not known if this rule ever applied to the bridge at Clark’s Mills.

In 1913 when it was rumoured that a magnificent steel pillared bridge with a span of 70 feet was soon to be built, there was a great hue and cry in the community. People were saying that the wooden bridges served well,