GNB
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick

Covered Bridges: A Part of New Brunswick's Heritage

Northeastern North America, and New Brunswick in particular, provided the perfect confluence of timing, geography, and raw materials for the proliferation of covered bridges in the late 19th and early 20th centuries – rivers to cross, ample lumber supply, settlement expansion and burgeoning local commerce, and a skilled labour force. Before the ready availability of steel, and as roads replaced rivers as the connectors between communities, wood was the essential building material for bridges that linked the ribbons of overland paths. Nowhere is this factor in transportation development better illustrated than in New Brunswick. This exhibit provides an overview of the many facets of covered bridges in a province where they have come to symbolize many important pieces of its history.

This exhibit is made possible through the support of the Canadian Culture Online Program of the Department of Canadian heritage, through Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives.


4.11.1