Provincial Registry of Heritage Property · Nova Scotia
Wallace River Railway Swing Bridge
Wallace River, Cumberland, Nova Scotia
The record
- Designation
- Provincially registered heritage property
- Type
- bridge
- Year built
- 1883
- Decade built
- 1880-1889
- Architect/designer
- Dominion Bridge Company
- Notice of registration date
- 2 December 2004
- Civic address
- Fountain Road, River Philip
- Community
- Wallace River
- County
- Cumberland
- Province
- Nova Scotia
- Country
- Canada
- Coordinates
- 45.75108, -63.56496
- File number
- Prov_file_260
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries
5 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1878 map "Pictou Co., N.S." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
Historical maps covering this location
- 1878 · Pictou Co., N.S. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1879 · County of Cumberland, Nova Scotia (Roe Brothers Atlas of the Maritime Provinces) (David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries)
- 1879 · County of Colchester, Nova Scotia (Roe Brothers Atlas of the Maritime Provinces) (David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries)
- 1879 · Counties of Queens and Kings, Prince Edward Island (Roe Brothers Atlas of the Maritime… (David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries)
- 1879 · County of Pictou, Nova Scotia (Roe Brothers Atlas of the Maritime Provinces) (David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries)
The Province of Nova Scotia's Registered Heritage Properties dataset ↗
The Province's registration record
Reason for registration
built c. 1889; architecturally significant because it's a rare bridge type designed with 2 main components - spanning and foundation elements: spanning elements consists of 3 deck plate girders; a thru truss; fixed swing span (no longer operational); foundation elements consists of 6 distinct structures; those being 2 sandstone abutments at either end; iron trestle (on land), 2 rectangular sandstone piers, and a round sandstone pier; culturally signigicant for its role in the railway industry and the transport of sandstone quarried in this area (exported to Boston, New York and inland as far as St. Louis); and contextually significant for being on its original site and while remote, it is a dramatic structure.
Character-defining elements
Character-defining elements of the Wallace River Railway Swing Bridge include
- all spanning elements, including the three deck plate girders, the through truss, and the intact cog wheel and crank allowing a fixed swing span;
- all foundation elements, including the sandstone abutments at either end of the span, the western end iron trestle, the three sandstone piers and their footings;
- its remote location and dramatic, massive presence in the context of the surrounding forest.