Millbridge

History

Mill Bridge was an important Hastings Road settlement. In its heyday, it was regarded as the chief community in Tudor Township. Originally named “The Jordan” because of its proximity to Jordan Creek, it was first settled in the mid-1850s, just prior to the formation of Tudor and Cashel townships in 1859.

The settler who gave Mill Bridge its new name was one Captain Ralph Norman, a veteran of the Crimean War. Norman, who always dressed in full military regalia, set up a trading station, reportedly run in pure military fashion. Doubtless his wife approved. Mrs. Norman, who helped run the shop, was also a Crimean veteran, having served as a nurse under the famed Florence Nightingale. Norman went on to establish a mill alongside the water that eventually became known as “the mill by the bridge.” The name stuck and Mill Bridge got a new name. Eventually, authorities shortened the village’s name to Millbridge, however they never made the change official. Other early settlers included the McEwens, Wards, Morans and Clarks.

The Mill Bridge School, opened in 1859, was the first school in Tudor Township. After fire destroyed the first school building and then the second, classes moved to the town hall. A local shopkeeper, John Bull, opened the village’s first post office in 1860. Bull operated the post office on and off until 1866 when Ralph Norman moved it to his store. It remained there until his death in 1911.

By 1871, the population of Millbridge had grown to around 100. Although the majority of residents listed their occupation as farming, Millbridge had grown into a busy community that boasted two stores, a hotel, an inn, and a boarding house, the latter operated by Mrs. Charlotte Potter. George Bigelow was the village blacksmith and John Armstrong, the local carpenter. William Harper served as township clerk.

By the mid-1880s, Millbridge was booming. The Millbridge annual fair was one of the county’s big events, offering competitions, exhibits and prizes for all who participated. There were log cutting and horse “drawing” contests for the men and exhibits for the ladies that included weaving, knitting and baking. The population had grown to about 125 and the village counted three general stores and two blacksmiths. At the beginning of the 1880s Millbridge had one hotel, operated by Daniel McKinnon. By 1886, that number had jumped to three. According to writer Gerald Boyce, Potter’s Hotel, opened around 1884, earned the nickname of Cupid’s Hotel because “all the girls hired to work at the hotel were quickly snapped up the by young swains.” Potter’s Hotel lasted until the early twentieth century. Steven Golding opened a third hotel around 1886.

With the arrival of the Central Ontario Railway in 1993, trains were available at the nearby station settlement of Millbridge Station.

Unlike many early pioneer settlements, there was a notable scarcity of churches in Tudor Township. Religious groups generally held services in other public buildings or in someone’s home. The Roman Catholics held their services in Martin Murphy’s home at Murphy’s Corner. Later on they moved to Hogan’s Hotel. The Anglicans built a church in Millbridge around 1888.

Millbridge continued to thrive during the latter part of the 19th century. In 1895 the village still contained three stores, owned by William Lamb, Charlie Lummiss and Captain Norman along with the Golding and Potter hotels. William Chard and Charles Donaldson opened a cheese factory, one of ten that were operating in the area at the time. The year 1904 saw the opening of a new schoolhouse. By 1910, the 20th century made an appearance with the arrival of telephone service.

Millbridge lay at the entrance of the Hastings Colonization Road, built between 1854 and 1858. Poor construction and maintenance marred the road’s success. By the mid-1920s, an Ontario land surveyor painfully referred to the “mute evidence of empty, dilapidated and abandoned houses and barns, orchards, wells, old broken down stone and wooden fences, root cellars …” Doubtless the lack of business led to Millbridge’s subsequent decline.

The Millbridge post office remained open until 1969, a time when Canada Post consolidated and closed many post offices due to cost-cutting measures. Many of the original buildings in Millbridge, including the church, hotel, and general store are still standing and now used as private residences.