08/28/2026
Today’s Throwback Thursday takes us back 120 years to 1906, with this wonderful photograph of the old covered bridge at Shubenacadie.
Located along what was then Route 2, the bridge connected Shubenacadie with Shubenacadie East, carrying travellers, horses, wagons and the everyday traffic of the community across the river.
While covered bridges have become symbols of days gone by, the roofs and wooden sides served a very practical purpose. They protected the bridge’s wooden trusses and timbers from rain, snow and sunlight, helping to prevent deterioration while also keeping horses and oxen calm while crossing (as the structure resembled a barn). Covered bridges became particularly common in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when timber was readily available and wooden truss bridges provided an economical way to span rivers and waterways. As iron and steel bridge construction became more common, covered wooden bridges gradually disappeared from the landscape.
The Shubenacadie bridge pictured here was eventually replaced by a metal bridge, and later, with the construction of the Shubenacadie bypass that we use today, the old bridge was eventually removed altogether.
Today, this covered bridge no longer stands over the river, but photographs like this one allow us to look back at a time when it was an important part of everyday life in Shubenacadie.❤️
