HHS students to build new swing bridge master’s cabin

Huntsville might have lost an iconic landmark if not for the efforts of Town staff and concerned local residents.

The bridge master’s cabin atop Huntsville’s swing bridge is a well-known and beloved feature of our town, but it’s in need of some T.L.C. In May 2015, Teri Souter, the Town of Huntsville’s Manager of Arts, Culture and Heritage, was contacted by a concerned resident who said the cabin was in a state of disrepair and should be replaced.

Souter agreed and contacted the District of Muskoka who owns the bridge. “Their first reaction was that, yes, it is derelict and it should be taken down. But once I pointed out the heritage value of the structure, they were really willing to work with us.” She came up with the idea to have high school students build the new cabin to give them practical experience and get them engaged in preserving history in our community, while also saving taxpayer dollars.

“It’s most meaningful because they will have something that they created with their own hands in their community. And I can talk to them about the importance of heritage in our community in terms that are relevant to them – it’s a non-traditional market for an academic subject and that makes me really excited. Councillor Jonathan Wiebe and I will be doing some outreach with (the students). And it was their idea to build a time capsule for it, to be opened for Canada’s 200^th anniversary in 2067.”

She had approached Gunnar Christensen, a teacher at the high school, who was enthusiastic about the project. They just needed a design.

Enter local architect, Duncan Ross. He’s a member of the Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee and was willing to provide the architectural drawings pro bono. “Duncan deserves a huge amount of credit,” said Souter. “He’s been up on ladders taking measurements to ensure that what’s built offsite can be properly fastened.”

They looked at old photos to help determine what the new structure should look like. “We had to decide how far we wanted to go to make a faithful reproduction,” said Ross. “There have been other locations, other colours. One photo shows it down closer to the ground and at one end at one point, but we decided to keep it where it is and follow the shape that it is now. We will add some safety features so it is easier to get to and will hopefully last longer without degrading.”

The bridge master’s cabin is visible on top of the bridge in the 1944 photo above and the later photos below in 1956 (left) and 1983, but early postcards of the swing bridge show it without a cabin atop.

Ross is pleased that the project is proceeding. “The cabin is not going to fall down tomorrow but it’s deteriorating. Something needs to be done or we will lose a small piece of heritage but one that I think is worth keeping. There are enough volunteers that it should be able to be done at a low cost. Teri has been putting a lot of time and effort into it.”

The District of Muskoka will provide the materials and will both remove the old structure and install the new one. They needed to involve the MTO to ensure that in removing the cabin they weren’t removing any functional pieces of the bridge.

Removal of the current structure will occur sometime in the spring.

There will be a period of time when the bridge master’s cabin will be gone, but don’t worry – it will be back! We’ll be using more natural-looking materials and the new design will be respectful of the cabin’s original function but designed in a way to last.Teri Souter, Manager of Arts, Culture and Heritage for the Town of Huntsville

“The cabin that’s there now isn’t the original,” she added. “It is a reproduction made of vinyl and plywood with little of the original materials still there. There’s really nothing there worth salvaging.”

Huntsville’s first swing bridge was completed in 1889, according to Huntsville with Spirit and Resolve by Susan Pryke. In 1902, it was replaced by a new steel swing bridge but at the start of the next navigation season it became apparent that the bridge needed to swing the opposite direction. “The town council asked the government for permission to make the change and instructions how to do it,” she wrote. In 1904, the province assumed responsibility for bridge maintenance. Finally, in 1937, the provincial government approved funding for a new swing bridge after it was deemed “difficult and inconvenient” to operate and “unsafe” for handling heavy traffic. In 1938, the bridge was replace with the one we know today. Steamships stopped plying the waters of the Muskoka River in 1958 and the swing bridge mechanism was later dismantled.

Huntsville’s Swing Bridge, 2015

So the new bridge master’s cabin will be the latest incarnation in its long history, but one that will be both true to its past and useful for the future. “We want it to look good but we are also hoping to build in other functions like crime prevention or fundraising. We don’t know what people might want to use it for in the future so the best thing we can do is keep it simple and authentic,” said Souter.

“It’s a really good project with lots of partners – the Town, the high school, the District, the MTO, and the Arts, Heritage and Culture committee – with lots of buy in. It’s been a lot of work to get to where we are today. Kudos to the Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee for advising Council, and to the Mayor and Council for passing the report.”

The new swing bridge master’s cabin will likely be installed in June.