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Continued from page 27 27.T. Haight and Wilson Pitman, but building the bridge proved to be far more difficult than even the county engineers had imagined, due to the continual sinking of the embankment and ice damage each spring. In fact the bridge proved to be so difficult to build, the contractors asked to be relieved of their contract because it was impossible to finish erecting the cribs for the Scugog Bridge due to the soft nature of the soil in the lake. The Roads and Bridges Committee, after weigh- ing all the facts, agreed to release the men from the contracts and paid them a sum of $670 for the work they had accomplished. The work proceeded under the supervision of the County Engineer John Shier and in June 1856 Bylaw #31 was passed, which pro- vided for the assumption of the Scugog Bridge by the County of Ontario. Following the completion of the bridge, Dr. W.O. Eastwood, who was then practising at Port Perry was the first to ride over the new bridge. Up to that time he had to keep a boat for visiting his Scugog Island patients. Although the floating bridge proved to be a con- siderable benefit to both Reach and Scugog communi- ties, and a vast improvement from previous methods, it was very unstable and unreliable. Spring was a particularly hazardous time for the bridge, as it was often damaged by winds and ice dur- ing the thaw, and ongoing maintenance by the county began to mount, causing considerable grumbling by many members of the council. On one occasion, portions of it went floating down the lake, only to be pulled back by the steamer Woodman. In May 1869, the local newspaper, the Ontario Observer reported, “the bridge suffered terribly in the spring floods and was in deplorable condition; being far from safe, it would require immediate attention and considerable outlay to repair.” The county earmarked $100 for repairs, but crit- ics of the on-going high cost to maintain the bridge insisted that the principal upon which it had been constructed was a huge blunder and it had cost 50 times more than it was worth in repairs. Reach and Scugog Townships battled with the County over the next few years over who was respon- sible for maintenance of the bridge. On one occasion in 1875, damage caused by scows tying up to the bridge initiated an action by the County prohibiting anyone from fastening any raft or scow, by which the bridge could be damaged, and for the commissioner to prosecute anyone who did not comply. Finally, during the spring of 1876, work began on the first permanent bridge to link Scugog Island and Port Perry. In an article dated March 2, 1876, James Baird wrote the following report: “The Reeve of Scugog has introduced a new de- parture regarding the Scugog Bridge, which from its inception has proved expensive, unsatisfactory and a bone of contention between the County councils and the minor municipalities concerned. The old shaky concern has only hung in its place by the grace of the winds and floods, which might at any moment have cleaned it out and cut off all further communication between Scugog and Reach. To maintain the rickety concern as it was, caused an annual drain on the exchequer of the County, which made our County fathers fairly groan and every now and again seek to repudiate. But it was of no use, the law held them fast and they had only to grin and bear it year after year with the expectation staring them in the face of being called upon at any moment to build an entire new structure, the old one having been swept away. About the close of last week, the Warden of the county, the first Deputy Reeve of Brock and the Reeve of Scugog met at Port Perry, went and examined the Bridge and determined on an entire change of struc- ture, to replace the present tottering, expensive, unreli- able concern with a permanent structure at as early a day as possible. The result was that a committee consisting of Messrs. James Graham and Joseph Bigelow was ap- pointed to secure the proper brushing and covering of 28 FOCUS - JANUARY 2011 JANUARY. FOCUS.32pgs.2011.indd 28 This circled section of an 1888 map shows where the Scugog Bridge was constructed between Port Perry and Scugog Island. 42M9N0 10:07:38 AM