Skip to main content

Powerscourt Covered Bridge

Image
By
The Powerscourt Covered Bridge, also known as the Percy Covered Bridge, is Canada's oldest covered bridge. Not only is it the oldest covered bridge in Canada, it is the only known example of a McCallum inflexible arched truss bridge still in existence. The covered bridge was built in 1861 over the Chateauguay River on First Concession Road near Hinchinbrooke, Quebec, just north of the border with New York State. The Powerscourt Covered Bridge is the only non-railroad bridge in the world using the McCallum inflexible arched truss design. This design was developed by Daniel McCallum, who was an engineer for the New York and Erie Railroad, and superintendent of railroads for the Union side in the Civil War. The techniques in building the two span Powerscourt Covered Bridge was otherwise used exclusively in the construction of railroad bridges. Because of the Powerscourt Covered Bridge's unique place in history, it was designated a National Historic Site in 1984 and the bridge was restored in 2009.

In this southwestern corner of Quebec between the border with New York and the St. Lawrence River, you will find an unique blend of French and English heritage. English Loyalists settled there after the Revolutionary War and some French Canadians decided to settle across the border in New York to farm. If you look at a map, you will find names like Huntingdon, Elgin, Hinchinbrooke and Hemmingford among the towns that dot this part of Quebec. As for nearby Powerscourt, it was once a much busier place, but today, there are just a few houses, a church building and a sturdy reminder of this region's past, present and future, the Powerscourt Covered Bridge.

The entrance into the Powerscourt (Percy) Covered Bridge. As a covered bridge fan, I made a long detour west down QC 202 to see this bridge, on a trip that eventually took me to Montreal.
Plaque commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Powerscourt Covered Bridge.
Inside the covered bridge.
Bridge plaques.
Note the curved roof on the covered bridge, another feature that is unique to this bridge.

How to Get There:

Sources and Links:
Canada's Historic Places - Powerscourt Covered Bridge National Historic Site of Canada
North Country Public Radio - Powerscourt, home to Canada’s oldest covered bridge
Mother Nature Network - North America's Most Charming Covered Bridges
Montreal Gazette - Gallery: Powerscourt Bridge
Library of Congress - Powerscourt Bridge
Nature Notes - Powerscourt (Percy) Covered Bridge
Labels:
Location: Powerscourt (Percy) Covered Bridge, Chemin de la 1re-Concession, Powerscourt, QC J0S 2E0, Canada

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned Fowler Avenue in Clovis, California

By
Originally Fowler Avenue in the city of Clovis had a brief discontinuation approaching Herndon Avenue.  Fowler Avenue traffic heading northbound was required to detour briefly onto westbound Herndon Avenue.  During 2001 this discontinuation was removed when Fowler Avenue was reconfigured to access the Sierra Freeway (California State Route 168) via an interchange.  This led to a segment of the original alignment of Fowler Avenue just south of Herndon Avenue to be abandoned.  Despite a shopping center opening over part of the original Fowler Avenue alignment in 2016 much of the abandoned roadway remains.   The history of the abandoned original alignment of Fowler Avenue in Clovis The original alignment of California State Route 168 departed downtown Clovis eastbound along Tollhouse Road.  This original alignment did not interact with Fowler Avenue at the Herndon Avenue intersection.  Fowler Avenue north of Tollhouse Road ran north to Herndon Avenue...
Post a Comment
Read more

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

By
  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more