Stagecoaches
In Knowlton, under the name of Blinn’s Inn, there was the first stagecoach stop on the Old Magog Road through the Bolton Pass and the first public house in the village offering lodging, food and drink. The Knwolton Inn is the oldest continuously operating hotel in the Eastern Townships. At the back and to the left of the Inn (yellow building) is still the blacksmith’s shop used by the stagecoaches during the passage through the Bolton Pass.
The first cars
Dr. Edmond Brun was the first mayor of West Shefford (Bromont) after the village was incorporated in 1889. He was a doctor and a pharmacist and, as a relatively wealthy and prominent person, it is normal that he was one of the first to own a motor car in the village, in 1913. He is seen here in front of his pharmacy, located in the house next to his home.
The covered bridges
Near Potton, the Frontier Bridge was built in 1896 near the Vermont border. It is located on Bellevue Road and crosses the Mud Creek gorge, a spectacular site. A trail, located upstream on Province Hill Road near the cemetery, provides access to Mud Creek and views of the bridge in all its glory. The bridge has been decommissioned since 1960, after more than 75 years of loyal service. It was listed as a historical monument on October 6, 2008.
A century ago, hundreds of covered bridges crossed the rivers in the region. Most villages had at least one if not several. Twenty-one authentic covered bridges still exist in the Eastern Townships. However, very few of these covered bridges have survived the ravages of time.
People often wonder why the bridges were covered. Some believe that the roofs were designed to provide shelter for travelers and their horses when it rained or snowed. Others believe that the walls and roof of the bridges were used for the horses so that they would not see the turbulent waters below. The real reason for covering a bridge was to protect the bridge structure from the weather.
A simple open bridge built with beams and a deck had a rather limited life expectancy – ten or twenty years. After that, it would start to rot and sag.