Bridgenorth, Ontario

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bridgenorth is a community that is part of Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield, Ontario, previously Smith Township. It sits on the eastern shore of Lake Chemong. It is located north of Peterborough, east of Lindsay, south of Buckhorn and west of Lakefield. The geography is surrounded by pine forests in the southwest and east and the rest is agricultural. The only road going over Chemong Lake connects to Ennismore and Lindsay. The community has a shopping centre, and a school, a church and a library. Its postal code is K0L 1H0 and the post office is located on Ward Street, which services residents with lock boxes and one rural route. The name of the school is Chemong P.S and it has about 600 students.In the town of Bridgenorth, there are annual events, such as the Polar Plunge and the Fishing Derby.

[edit] History

In 1615, Samuel de Champlain stayed in Bridgenorth, which was a portage used by the Hurons to travel between Chemong Lake and Little Lake in Peterborough. Chemong Road now follows the portage route.

There exist historical images of the floating wooden bridge connecting Bridgenorth to Ennismore across Chemong Lake. In the mid 1950's, stones were assembled from a nearby quarry to construct a more permanent bridge. It is now known as the James A. Gifford Causeway.