5: Cross Avenue Bridge, Sixteen Mile Creek Rail Bridge

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1 1. Description of Property Municipal Address Name (if applicable) Legal Description Location of Property Ownership Access Current Use Existing Designation General Description Priority Level 5: Cross Avenue Bridge, Sixteen Mile Creek Rail Bridge Cross Avenue Bridge, Sixteen Mile Creek Rail Bridge PT. Lots 14 & 15, Con 3 Trafalgar, South of Dundas Street, as in TS429; Oakville/Trafalgar. Located at the bottom of Cross Ave, north of the intersection with Cornwall Rd. Public- not confirmed but likely Canadian National Railways (CNR) or Metrolinx. Site inspection completed on August 27th, 2015 (AB, CU, ES). Part of an active rail line used by CNR, VIA and/or Metrolinx/Go Transit. Listed on the Register of Properties of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest (Not Designated) for the following reason: This property has potential cultural heritage value for its rail bridge and the historical association with the historic rail lines and the development of the travel hub of the Trafalgar Township. Cross Bridge is an active railway bridge across the Sixteen Mile Creek. It is comprised of a rail bed lying on metal trusses running lengthwise, and supported on four, massive, stone piers. Each pier is built of squared, coursed stone (or possibly cast-stone) blocks. The bridge, or portions of the bridge, likely dates to 1856, when the Hamilton & Toronto Railway Company built the first rail line from Toronto to Hamilton through Oakville. Medium Figure 1: Cross Bridge (AB, 2015) 5-1

2 Corporation of the Town of Oakville 1225 Trafalgar Rd Oakville, ON L6H 0H3 Raised Railway Cross Ave. Bridge Bridge Support Cultural Heritage Landscape Inventory Map LEGEND Assessment Boundary Bridge Support Cross Ave. Building CHL Study Area Heritage District Heritage Trail Parkland Park Trail Road Sixteen Mile Creek Vegetation Watercourse Co rnw all Rd. Site Structures Drawing not to scale

3 2. Key Recommendations Priority = Medium Rationale for priority level: No known vulnerabilities; Current listed status on Heritage Register provides sufficient protection. Recommendations for future action: Contact Metrolinx to confirm ownership of the bridge and to determine if it has been evaluated through their Heritage Protocol and assigned a heritage status; If no evaluation has been conducted, either request that Metrolinx conduct a full evaluation and share the results, or conduct a full heritage evaluation using the municipal process and share the results with Metrolinx. Following evaluation, update the Heritage Registry with a Statement of Cultural Heritage Value. 3. Documentation and Inventory of Built Form List of Built Features: A railway bridge comprised of a three-track rail bed lying on metal, lengthwise trusses, and supported on four, massive, stone piers. Each pier is built of square, coursed-stone blocks and consists of a narrow, upper tier mounted on a broad, tapered, lower tier. Each pier is comprised of two vertical halves: a southern half dating to the mid-19 th century; and a northern half likely added in the last 20 years. The northern halves may be built of a stone composite rather than stone. Cross Avenue, a two-lane, paved road that runs under the railway bridge; Metal guard rails, street lamps and sidewalk along Cross Avenue; Hydro lines running parallel with the railway line; Engineered erosion control along the river banks below the bridge, and on the steep slope on the east side of Cross Ave., north of the railway bridge; A small house at the corner of Cross Avenue and Lyons Lane, which may be associated with the farm of former landowner John Cross. 4. Documentation and Inventory of Natural Form List of Natural Features: Sixteen Mile Creek and surrounding floodplain area; Clay banks/cliffs adjacent to the creek ; Apple trees along the banks at the top of the hill, north of the bridge where Cross Ave meets Lyons Lane; Naturalized growth along the east river bank, below Cross Ave. (Rhus typhina, Salix spp., Ulmus pumila, and native and invasive herbaceous perennials); and Forested west slope of the creek valley. 5-3

4 5. Design (Typology) X all that apply X Categories of Cultural Heritage Landscape Designed Landscape Organically Evolved Landscape Relict Landscape (Evolved Landscape) Continuing Landscape (Evolved Landscape) Associative Cultural Landscape Description clearly defined landscape designed and created intentionally by man. results from an initial social, economic, administrative, and/or religious imperative and has developed in its present form in response to its natural environment in which an evolutionary process came to an end at some time in the past. retains an active social role in contemporary society closely associated with the traditional way of life, and which the evolutionary process is still in progress. justifiable by virtue of the powerful religious, artistic, or cultural associations of the natural element rather than material cultural evidence, which may be insignificant or even absent. 6. Historical and Thematic Associations Cross Avenue is named for farmer John Cross ( ), whose farmstead was located on the north side of the railway line. He cultivated fruit, mostly strawberries. He is credited with designing a basket to transport perishable foods and opened a factory to manufacture baskets, east of Seventh Line. The railway bridge was built c.1856 by the Hamilton & Toronto Railway Company (HTR). The HTR was incorporated in 1852 to build a line from Toronto to Hamilton. It was amalgamated in 1871 with the Great Western Railway Company (GWR), which had been its parent company. GWR amalgamated in 1882 with the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada (GTR). The Dominion Government took control of GTR in 1920 and GTR became part of Canadian National Railways (CNR) in Although CNR continues to own many of the original rail lines of its antecedent companies, it leases a number of lines to VIA Rail and Metrolinx to provide passenger rail and commuter rail (GO Transit) service. The Cross Avenue Bridge is currently part of the advertised VIA Rail and GO Transit rail lines. The bridge was widened, likely within the last 20 years, to permit the addition of a third track on the rail bed. The stone piers were augmented with stone or cast-stone components designed to mimic the original construction. The first GWR station (not extant) was built on the current Oakville GO station site in As the first railway link between Toronto and Hamilton, the line through this station, including the Cross Avenue Bridge, was important to the development of Oakville. It was also part of the early railway history of Ontario and Canada. If the Cross Avenue Bridge was built as part of the original 1856 line from Toronto to Hamilton, it was part of the first wave of railway construction in Canada. The first railway lines across southern and eastern Ontario were built in the early to mid-1850s; the first steam train to operate in Ontario travelled between Toronto and Aurora in An 1856 structure would be among the earliest in Ontario. There are many stone railway structures from this construction period across the province that are still extant and still in active use, however, many were replaced by the GTR during infrastructure investment between 1885 and It is possible that the Cross Avenue Bridge may represent a GTR replacement of the original 1856 structure. It is also possible that there may be other, less visible, stone structures along the rail line through the Town of Oakville, including stone culverts. 5-4

5 7. Contextual Associations The bridge is located just north of the intersection (Speers Road/Cornwall Rd & Cross Ave). It is surrounded by commercial enterprises. The Oakville / St. Mary Pioneer Cemetery is located to the north-west. The 16 Mile Creek Heritage Trail runs up Cross Ave. under the bridge. 8. Evaluation (O. Reg 9/06) O.Reg.9/06 Criteria 1. The property has design value or physical value because it, i. is a rare, unique, representative or early example of a style, type, expression, material, or construction method, ii. displays a high degree of craftsmanship or artistic merit, or iii. demonstrates a high degree of technical or scientific achievement. 2. The property has historical value or associative value because it, i. has direct associations with a theme, event, belief, person, activity, organization or institution that is significant to a community, ii. yields, or has the potential to yield, information that contributes to an understanding of a community or culture, or iii. demonstrates or reflects the work or ideas of an architect, artist, builder, designer or theorist who is significant to a community. 3. The property has contextual value because it, i. is important in defining, maintaining or supporting the character of an area, ii. is physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to its surroundings, or Criteria Potentially Met (Y/N) Y Y N Y N N N Y Potential Justification The bridge may be a rare, representative or early example of the 19 th century stone railway bridge type, GWR bridge type, or of stone construction. Given that it is still standing and operational after 160 years, it may display a high degree of craftsmanship. Given that it is still standing and operational after 160 years, it may demonstrate a high degree of technical achievement. The bridge may have direct associations with the history of the HTR, GWR and GTR, or with the 19 th century development of the Town of Oakville or Trafalgar Township. Not known. Not known. Not known. The bridge may be physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to Sixteen Mile Creek, the John Cross 5-5

6 iii. is a landmark. O.Reg.9/06 Criteria Criteria Potentially Met (Y/N) Y Potential Justification Farm, or to other early railway resources along the Toronto to Hamilton line. Because of its size, function, age and high visibility, this property may be considered a landmark in the Town of Oakville. 9. Photographic Documentation Figure 3: View of south elevation of Cross Bridge (AB, 2015) 5-6

7 Figure 4: Detail of Apple trees found along sidewalk of Cross Ave, north of the bridge. (CU, 2015) Figure 5: Showing the railway bridge over Sixteen Mile Creek in relation to Cross Ave. (CU, 2015). 5-7

8 Figure 6: Railway bridge pier on the east side of Cross Ave. (CU, 2015) Figure 7: Railway bridge piers and footing on the west side of Cross Ave. (CU, 2015) 5-8

9 Figure 8: Detail showing the original stone with metal tie (left) and the newer addition (right). (CU, 2015) 10. Analysis & Recommendations Potential Heritage Value: The bridge may be a rare, representative or early example of a 19 th century stone railway bridge, of GWR bridge construction in particular, or of stone construction in general. The fact that it is still standing after 160 years, suggests that it demonstrates a high degree of technical achievement from an engineering standpoint, and possibly also a high degree of craftsmanship in its assembly. Depending on whether it was built as part of the original 1856 line from Toronto to Hamilton, or is a later replacement by the GWR or GTR, the bridge may have direct associations with the history of the HTR, GWR and GTR. It may also be associated with the role of the railway in supporting the development of Trafalgar Township and later Oakville. The bridge is certainly physically, functionally, visually and historically linked to Sixteen Mile Creek landscape. It may also be connected with the John Cross farm and any extant resources or landscapes of that farm. There may also be other extant railway structures from this period along the Toronto to Hamilton line, including stone stations, culverts or bridges, and the bridge may have links with some of these. Actions: The bridge merits retention on the Heritage Register. If the bridge is operated by Metrolinx as part of its GO Transit line, Metrolinx may already have determined that this is a Metrolinx Heritage Property using the Metrolinx Heritage Protocol under the Standards and Guidelines for Provincial Heritage Properties (2010). The Town should contact Metrolinx to confirm ownership and heritage status of the bridge. Metrolinx may also be willing to share any heritage evaluation report on the bridge, with the Town. If the bridge had not been evaluated, the Town might request that Metrolinx conduct an evaluation and share the results. Alternately, the Town may decide to conduct its own evaluation, with a view to sharing the results with Metrolinx and asking 5-9

10 that the structure be identified as a Metrolinx Heritage Property. The Town may also want to add the resulting statement of cultural heritage value to the existing Municipal Heritage Registry. A medium priority level is recommended for the following reasons: provincial heritage status and protection unknown; and Current listed status on Heritage Register provides sufficient protection. 11. Sources Ashe, David. & Burnell, Joyce. Oakville Streets Names and Landmarks. (Oakville: Burnell & Creighton Publishing, 2007). Buxton, Harry. Oakville and Trafalgar Township. (Oakville: Oakville Historical Society, 2002). Accessed online at Oakville Inventory of Heritage Resource. 16 Mile Creek Bridge. Town of Oakville. Town of Oakville, Heritage Register: Section F. Last updated: October 24th, Accessed at