Cummings Bridge
Written by Bytown Museum
on
03/Dec/2009
The first Cummings Bridge, erected in 1836, linked Bytown and Gloucester. The bridge crossed the Rideau River, via the island lying just south of today's bridge, where the Cummings family lived and ran a general store. A community called Cummings Bridge sprang up in the surrounding area. This community would eventually become known as Vanier.
The early wooden bridge was replaced first by the Cummings family (who charged a toll for the new bridge) and again later by Ottawa lumberman (and later mayor) Samuel Bingham in 1893. In thanks for Bingham's investment, the City renamed the bridge after him. However, angry community residents tore down the name plaque and threw it in the river. As a result, we still know the bridge as Cummings Bridge.
Today's bridge, built in 1921, is the bridge's fourth incarnation. In the summer, you can often spot Ottawa's royal swans from the bridge or the nearby banks of the Rideau River.
