As COVID-19 evolves, it’s important for you to consider the risks and manage them appropriately. Remember to read all signage before entering any trail system.
When choosing to find PtboCountyCaches geocaches, we encourage you to:
- Stay home if you’re feeling sick
- Maintain 2m physical distancing with people outside of your social circle
- Carry hand sanitizer and use it before AND after contact with geocaches
Please note: cache containers are not officially sanitized at any time. If you do choose to open a cache, it is at your own risk.
This cache has been placed as part of an initiative by the County of Peterborough, its member municipalities, the City of Peterborough and local First Nation communities to celebrate Canada 150+. There are 23 geocaches placed throughout the region showcasing local history.
If you would like to participate in this initiative you can download a Travel Diary at (Geocaching at Peterborough & the Kawarthas Tourism). Find at least one geocache in each of the Townships, First Nations and in the City and stamp your Travel Diary. Once you have completed the Travel Diary, you can visit the Peterborough and the Kawartha’s Tourism office to pick up a limited geocoin. New coins in stock in 2018.
On the lid of the cache container you will see a stamp. If you have a stamp pad with you, great, use that to ink the stamp and stamp your Travel Diary. If not, use the crayon or the pencil in the cache container to "rub" the impression of the stamp on your Travel Diary.
Beware boaters! In the waters before you lie the ties and foundation of the Cobourg & Peterborough (C&P) Railway. The ambitious 4km pile/crib trestle bridge across Rice Lake from Harwood to Hiawatha was part of a route intended to provide a direct link between the growing cities at either end. This was a time when many smaller railway companies were competing to connect regionally-significant routes.
This railway was first conceived in 1831, with construction later starting in 1853 through the will of D’Arcy Boulton Jr and others. Massive amounts of materials were required. Tic Island was used to help with the bridging of a lake with a deep muddy bottom. Several techniques – pile trestle, stone-filled cribs with burr truss bridge spans, and a centre-pivot drawbridge in the middle of the lake – were employed. The completed cost of Rice Lake Bridge approached £35,000 at the time when a labourer earned about one dollar per twelve-hour day.
The railway between Cobourg and Peterborough was completed on Dec 29, 1854 to great optimism and excitement. It ran right through Hiawatha and brought many people through the community. Although the bridge sat 4-feet above the water the shifting ice rendered it unstable and it required repairs within 3 days. Under constant repair and suffering damage each winter & spring, it was deemed unsafe for passengers by 1859. When The Prince of Wales visited the area in 1860, he too was taken across the river by boat.
Its final collapse in 1861 is said to have been aided by men from the rival Port Hope, Lindsay and Beaverton (PHL&B) Railway who removed pins and rails from the line. The PHL&B line had opened in 1858 to provide an alternate route around the west end of the lake. Although the ties and rocks of the railway are submerged, they still cause boaters problems to this day.
For more historic photos of this engineering feat, view the walls inside the restaurant facing the lake.
Sources:
Shpuniarsky, Heather Y. and The Village of Hiawatha Book Committee. 2016. "The Village of Hiawatha: A History". pp. 76-77.
"Cobourg and Peterborough Railway", http://www.canada-rail.com/ontario/railways/CP.html#.WNvJ8E3rvIV. Accessed: March 9, 2017.
"Cobourg History, Harwood Station Museum: Part 3. The Rice Lake Bridge", https://www.cobourghistory.ca/histories/harwood-station-museum/67-part-3-the-rice-lake-bridge. Access: March 9, 2017.