For generations people have been drawn to the mouth of the Credit River, and the development of roads brought an increased need for a reliable way to cross the Credit River. At first, shortly after the establishment of the Government Inn in 1796-1798, a small ferry transported people and supplies across the river. The ferry was a flat scow, 23 feet long and 8 feet wide, and was moved by a pole and rope system. Innkeeper Thomas Ingersoll operated the ferry in 1805, followed by his son Charles and his son-in-law Daniel Pickett. The ferry operated until the summer of 1820, when the first bridge across the river was built. 

The first bridge was made of logs and lasted until 1832, when it was replaced by another wooden bridge which allowed for smoother access across the river. This second bridge lasted from 1832 until 1850 when it was washed away in a spring flood. On April 15, 1850, Toronto Township granted funds for a “temporary bridge”. While awaiting the new bridge, the enterprising Robert Cotton of Port Credit revived the ferry service across the river. The temporary bridge, built by Henry Rutledge and Robert Cotton, was in place by late 1850. In the summer of 1851, the new permanent third bridge was constructed, which remained in use until it too was washed out in 1895. 

The fourth bridge, referred to as the “Iron Bridge”, was built in late 1895 by the Peterboro Bridge and Engineering Company. This bridge remained in use until 1919, when Lakeshore Road was paved and widened. While a new bridge was being built, a temporary floating “bailey bridge” was used. The fifth permanent bridge was completed in 1919 and was a high-arched, reinforced concrete bowstring bridge. This bridge remained in use until August of 1959, when widening of Lakeshore Road again necessitated a replacement. 

This concrete bowstring bridge officially closed on August 31, 1959 (a picture in The Weekly newspaper on August 27, 1959 shows the “unofficial” last car to cross the bridge, carrying Port Credit Reeve Cy Saddington and Councillor John Holland). A temporary bailey bridge was put in place on August 6, 1959 to allow traffic to bypass the concrete arch bridge during demolition and the subsequent construction of a new bridge. 

Demolition crews began the process of removing the concrete arch bridge in the afternoon of August 31, 1959 – 63 years ago today. It was a slow process. The concrete proved to be stronger than anticipated. A picture in the newspaper on September 3, 1959, shows a crane with a wrecking ball trying to hasten the demolition. On September 17, 1959, crews used dynamite, and the bridge was broken in half, with the sections loaded onto large barges. The barges were towed out into the deep water in the lake, where the demolished bridge was given a watery burial. So yes, somewhere off Port Credit in the dark, cold waters of Lake Ontario, lie the remains of the concrete arch bridge which crossed the Credit River between 1919 and 1959. 

A new, four-lane bridge was opened in 1960. This bridge, the sixth permanent bridge on Lakeshore Road to cross the Credit River, remains in use today.