Visit the Most Romantic Bridge in Ontario

The Story

Ball’s Bridge was erected in 1885 to connect Goderich, the county seat, with outlying areas to the east. According to Daryl Ball, a descendant of the family who farmed the land, a young Miss Ball had to cross the river by foot to go to market in Goderich. During one trip to buy sugar, she was spotted by an engineer who was employed to supervise construction of the Goderich Bridge. They fell in love and he built Ball’s Bridge one summer so that his love would be able to cross the river without getting wet. Since then, Ball’s Bridge has been dubbed “The Bridge That Love Built” and arguably the most romantic bridge in Ontario. Today, the bridge remains a popular location for couples photographs.

The Bridge’s Design

The bridge itself is a unique treasure. The structure is an excellent – and now rare – example of a two-span Pratt design through truss, pin-connected wrought iron bridge. Its construction shows attention to detail through the ‘v-lacing’ located at various points on the bridge. The pin-connected truss bridge was a common design during the late 1800s and early 1900s but faded away as new building techniques were developed. This bridge type has become very rare today, especially in Ontario. Moreover, the 1885 construction date sets it among the some of the oldest wrought iron Pratt truss bridges in the U.S. and Canada.

Natural Habitat

Cradled by a loop in the Menesetung (Maitland) River, this beautiful swath of land that passes from Londesborough Road through to Little Lakes Road is surrounded by woodland that has been designated as “provincially and locally significant” and “significant wildlife habitat”. The Maitland Valley watershed and wildlife corridor has been protected by Maitland Valley Conservation Authority for close to 50 years, and many species of wildlife, birds, amphibians, fish, trees and plants call this area home. The newest addition to the bridge includes a picnic area, accompanied by a windphone. If you are not familiar, the windphone is an unconnected telephone booth, where visitors can hold one-way conversations with deceased loved ones. We invite you to walk or bike the bridge, have a picnic, enjoy the scenery, and even try canoeing the Maitland!