Kingsbridge, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Kingsbridge, Ontario is a small rural community in southwestern Ontario
Southwestern Ontario
Southwestern Ontario is a subregion of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, centred on the city of London. It extends north to south from the Bruce Peninsula on Lake Huron to the Lake Erie shoreline, and east to south-west roughly from Guelph to Windsor. The region had a population...

. It is approximately 22 kilometers north of Goderich
Goderich, Ontario
Goderich is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario and is the county seat of Huron County. The town was founded by William "Tiger" Dunlop in 1827. First laid out in 1828, the town is named after Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, who was British prime minister at the time. The town...

 on the Bluewater Highway
Highway 21 (Ontario)
King's Highway 21, commonly referred to as Highway 21, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that begins at Highway 402 mid-way between Sarnia and London and ends at Highway 6, Highway 10 and Highway 26 in Owen Sound...

 where it intersects with Kingsbridge Line. The area around Kingsbridge was settled in 1839 by Irish immigrants from County Kerry, Ireland. During the 1840s and 1850s many more Irish families, mostly from Kerry although some from Counties Clare, Cork, and Tipperary had settled in the vicinity. Kingsbridge was named for John King who had constructed a bridge in the area in the 1850s. The communities primary landmarks include St. Joseph's Church, the elementary school and the former St. Josephs convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...

. The community overlooks Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...

 and is surrounded by rich farmland.

Religion

The first priest to visit the area was missionary Father Giveney, baptizing children and holding the first mass in what is now Port Albert. Mass was said in Morgan King's cabin until the first church was erected Father Wassereau built the first church, a white frame structure without a floor around 1860, and it stood until the church was rebuilt in 1887. As the population in the area greatly increased, more capacity was needed and the new church was larger and included a belfry. The current red brick church was completed in 1905, and held its first mass on October 22, a tradition that continues to this day.

School

A small Catholic school was built next to the Church, and was running for many years, but closed in June 2006, due to the low number of students. The building still stands, but is privately owned.

Mayor

The mayor of Kingsbridge is Michael Lalonde.He has been mayor of kingsbridge, Ontario since 2004-present

Kingsbridge Wind Power Project

Main Article: Kingsbridge Wind Power Project

The Kingsbridge Wind Power Project is a 39.6 MW wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...

that is located in and around the area of Kingsbridge. It consists of 22 turbines and provides power for approximately 12,500 homes. http://www.epcor.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/Environment/pdfs/KingsbridgeWindPowerProject.pdf
Wind turbine development has become hugely controversial at the community and provincial levels. It is dividing communities and splitting families. The general consensus amongst thinking people is that this project is doomed.
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