The scenic village of Lyndhurst, Ontario came into existence around 1802. Originally named Furnace Falls, it was the site of the Lansdowne Iron Works, the first iron smelter in Upper Canada. The village was established around the smelter as grist and saw mills were built in the early 1800’s. The original furnace and mill complex were destroyed in a fire in 1811.
Eventually, after the war of 1812, Furnace Falls saw the establishment of new saw and grist mills along with flour and carding mills. The population grew as farm land was settled and in 1846, the village was renamed Lyndhurst in honour of John Singleton Copley, Lord Lyndhurst.
The famous Lyndhurst Bridge, built from local sandstone, was completed in 1857 and replaced the original wooden structure which spanned Lyndhurst Creek. It is now the oldest bridge in Ontario. The water passing under this beautiful bridge flows through Lyndhurst Creek from Lower Beverly Lake and continues over the dam to Lyndhurst Lake, Singleton Lake and on to Red Horse Lake, ultimately connecting to the Gananoque River and the St. Lawrence.
Aided by the arrival of the railway in 1884, Lyndhurst became a booming community. By the early 1900’s, it boasted two hotels, several general stores, tailors, a tinsmith, a harness shop, carriage and wagon makers, a granite quarry, a bank, two cheese factories, blacksmiths, milliners, a shingle mill, a carding mill with a dye house and three churches.
Today, Lyndhurst is a much quieter place. The picturesque bridge is the focal point of the village where locals and visitors often come to relax in the public park, throw in a fishing line or just enjoy the view. It is a tranquil place where artists and photographers are often drawn to capture the scenery; where canoes and kayaks begin a memorable paddle. A trip up the creek promises a glimpse of wildlife including jumping fish, great blue herons, turtles, red-winged blackbirds, kingfishers and osprey.
The area also offers many cottages and campgrounds, golf courses, several launch ramps for boaters and Kendrick’s Park’s beautiful beach and picnic ground.
You can keep up to date on all things Lyndhurst at this facebook page: fb.com/lyndhurstvillage
I asked last yr, is there any chance to have more benches for people and older ones to sit and rest the only one we’re people eating, so your afraid to sit on peoples lawn. I have been going for 5 yrs I love it , but as I get older I can’t walk it without a rest. Could you think about it please , and if it’s hot it’s worse , or your waiting for some ,,,home you can do this See you at the faiir. Diane
Hi Diane, I did bring this up after last year’s fair and will bring it up again. We do provide picnic tables in certain areas and there’s the odd bench throughout the village as well as the seating at the music areas. We’re limited in that we borrow the picnic tables from the township and don’t actually own any ourselves. I will ask if anyone has ideas on how we can improve rest areas. Thanks for supporting the Turkey Fair!
Hello there! Regarding resting areas, I would suggest putting out a fun announcement on the website, asking people to bring any and all extra lawn chairs that they could donate!! You could even create a fun ‘contest’ where the brightest and most colourful spray painted chair would win a small prize; like a BIG home made Pumpkin Pie! The chairs could be gathered up and placed away for the following year. The ones that are too ratty could be thrown away afterwards. But it could become another fun tradition; as people love to donate & participate too : )
Gayla Anderson
Thanks for the suggestion!