What are some of the most recognizable symbols of North American life in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries? Many people, if asked that question, would name the community hall, the old ice cream parlor, and maybe the wooden covered bridges. The increased use of metal construction materials such as steel has largely eliminated the building of new covered bridges, but some still remain in small towns such as Wakefield (or La Pêche), Quebec. The Wakefield covered bridge in the Gatineau Valley functions both as a working bridge and as a reminder of a past way of life.
The History of Covered Bridges
According to Cliff Calderwood on the New England Vacations Guide website, covered bridges first appeared in North America in the early nineteenth century, but they date back much further than that. The Chinese and Europeans built them in Medieval times, with one of the best remaining examples being the Kapellbrucke, built in 1333 near Lucerne, Switzerland. Wooden trusses held the structures together, allowing people to build bridges even over very wide spaces. At 1282 feet long, the Hartland Bridge in the Canadian province of New Brunswick is the longest known covered bridge, spanning the Saint John River.
Many of the covered bridges in North America date back to the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. A likely reason for covering the bridges was for preservation, since the wood used in building the bridges could easily become wet and rot. In North America, many covered bridges were painted red to resemble barns, as is the bridge near Wakefield. Different methods of construction allowed builders to span rivers of many different sizes, but they all served a practical purpose of providing a safe way to cross a river, as well as the added benefit now of giving insights into small-town life in the early twentieth century.
Covered Bridges in the Gatineau Valley, Quebec
According to the Quebec Heritage Web page on the covered bridges of the Gatineau Valley, the Wakefield bridge is really a reconstruction of the Gendron Bridge which stood at the site from its construction in 1915 until its destruction through arson in 1984. Wanting to preserve their heritage, the residents of Wakefield gathered volunteers to rebuild the bridge, using the old methods of construction. The new bridge, which is 288 feet (87.8 meters) long, was finished in 1997 and is open to pedestrians and cyclists. Although the old bridge no longer exists, the new one helps to preserve the heritage of Quebec in the early twentieth century, as does the Ruisseau-Meech Bridge, built near the town of Chelsea in 1924.
Wooden covered bridges are no longer the standard construction in North America or other parts of the world, but structures like the Wakefield covered bridge in Quebec help provide insights into the past.
Sources:
Calderwood, Cliff. “Covered Bridges: Discovering a North American Living History.” New England Vacations Guide.
Farfan, Michael. “Covered Bridges of the Outaouais, Part 2.” Outaouais Heritage Web Magazine.
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