03/28/2026
March 27, 2026 - Yesterday was a quiet day but never ever lacking in things to do. Mary, Alice, and I took a moment to go through a binder of miscellaneous photos and it got me thinking about the Palmerston bridge. I know most of you have likely seen pictures or even remember the old iron bridge that spanned the harbour before one we use today. But how many of you know that at one time it had a functioning swing section that allowed ships to pass through? A 1897 Engineer's Report from the House of Assembly Journals and Proceedings described it thus:
“This bridge, built under the provisions of the Nova Scotia Bridge Act in 1893-4, replaced a wooden bridge that carried the public highway across the upper reach of Pugwash harbour. It occupies the same site, rests on the same foundations, and has the same number of spans as the former bridge, names:- three of 156 feet each, one of 140 feet and one swing span of 82 feet 8 inches out to out. The roadway is 18 feet wide in clear.
The foundations of the old bridge were constructed by dumping stone from scows, until they reached the level of low water, and the piers to support the superstructure were erected thereon, and consisted of wooden cribs, closely packed with stone to the level of bridge seats. In removing the old piers, the prisms of stone, that has been loosely cast into the water, were found to be silted up and so covered with mussel shells and seaweed that their cohesion suggested their adoption for the foundations of the new bridge. The stone packing of the old piers was, therefore, cast round the prism blocks to increase and strengthen them and two feet in depth of concrete was placed over all to found the masonry of the new bridge upon. The cutwaters () of piers are of large stones, dressed on beds, joints and face, the courses are clamped vertical and doweled to prevent displacement bu the heavy ice floes so prevalent here. Freestone of excellent quality was found in the neighbourhood and was employed throughout. The bridge is proportioned to carry a rolling load of 80 lbs per square foot of roadway, plus the static load of bridge."
The bridge was designed and constructed by the Dominion Bridge Company of Canada, Montreal. The contract for masonry was awarded to Mr. R. L. McDonald of Pugwash. When everything was said and done, the Engineer reported the cost of building at $27,229.50. Sadly, not even five years later, a 1901 report in the Halifax Herald noted that, “The pivot pier has settled and the draw is hanging by either end. It is said some five or six inches of stone will have to be cut out to allow the beds to swing.” In the photos below you can see the circular span that allowed the bridge to swing out clearly in the Clara Dennis photo. In the one from the NCHS photo collection, you can actually see the swing section open :)
