Landmark Similkameen bridge featured on new Canada Post stamp

PENTICTON – A new series of stamps by Canada Post pays tribute to historic covered bridges, including the iconic Keremeos Red Bridge in the Similkameen Valley.

The five stamp series features the Ashnola No. 1 railroad bridge over the Similkmaeen River, located about two kilometres west of Keremeos. The bridge is the last remaining of seven similar bridges the Great Northern Railway used to cross the Similkameen River as it made its way through the Canadian side of the Similkameen Valley.

The bridge was built in 1907 and rebuilt in 1926 with its Howe trusses sheathed in wood panelling and cross-bracing exposed overhead, according to Canada Post.

The former railway bridge was converted to vehicle use in 1961 and is now used to access the Ashnola Valley.

On July 26, 2008, centennial celebrations took place at the bridge as one of the Similkmaeen Valley’s longest surviving landmarks turned 100 years old. The bridge had recently undergone renovations to replace the wooden cladding with sheet metal.

Other stamps in the series include New Brunswick’s Hartland Bridge, Quebec’s Powerscourt (Percy) Bridge, the Félix-Gabriel-Marchand Bridge in Quebec and the West Montrose Bridge over the Grand River in Ontario.

At the end of the 1800s there were more than 1,400 covered bridges in rural Canada, only 140 of which remain today.

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