During early settlement of Bayfield, a grist and saw mill on the north shore of the Bayfield River was constructed. Shortly after, a bridge was built across the river on top of the mill dam. Unfortunately, the dam broke during the spring floods of April 1841, and the bridge was washed away. The bridge over the dam was crudely maintained for nine years until the first wooden bridge was built around 1850, and pictured below in 1878. The first wooden bridge was constructed by Alf Erwin, the original owner of the building which currently houses the BHS.

This postcard from 1904 documents one of the many iterations of bridges to be built at the river crossing on Highway 21. Short Hill Road, once called Mill Road, intersects Highway 21 and goes beyond to where the first river crossings were made by village pioneers. The bridge pictured below was finished on October 12, 1893, as recorded in the diary of James Stonehouse who aditionally featured an account of it being damaged by the spring floods. Finally, in Spring of 1904, there was a flood which was the worst seen in years, and left the bridge severely damaged.

An item in the Goderich Signal newspaper once reported: “The Bridge over the Bayfield River was so badly damaged by this recent freshet that it is now impassable.” From the freshet, meaning the flooding of a river from heavy rain or snow melt, the wooden bridge needed to be repaired regularly and replaced about every 10 to 15 years. In 1905, a one-lane two-span wrought iron bridge was built at the foot of Glass Hill, pictured below in 1913. The 1905 bridge lasted about 44 years, until it was replaced in 1949 by the concrete deck bridge.

Image of 1905’s two-span wrought iron bridge, pictured in 1935.

New concrete bridge constructed in 1949, photographed in 1950.

Postcard from 1961 of concrete bridge with Bayfield River sign.