Pont de Des Rivières

About

The Pont de Des Rivières is a covered bridge spanning the Rivière aux Brochets in Notre-Dame-de-Stanbridge, Quebec, Canada, near the hamlet of Malmaison. It is the only authentic Howe-type truss bridge in Quebec. It is also remarkable for its stone abutments, vertical board, and batten siding. Erected in 1884, it is the third bridge to be built on this site. It is contemporary with the development of the hamlet of Malmaison by brothers François-Guillaume and Henri Desrivières, who built a dam, flour mill, and sawmill here in the 1840s. At its peak, the hamlet had a population of around 200, as well as a chapel and a school. The site was slowly abandoned at the end of the 19th century. The bridge was raised in 1912 to prevent it being washed away. It was restored in 1998. The Ministry of Culture and Communications of Québec classified the structure as a heritage building in 2015 as the only surviving example of a Howe farm bridge in Quebec and as an example of a bridge built in Quebec before the development of the typical Ministère de la Colonisation covered bridge model.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.