In the 1890’s a lumber depot was established on the Montreal River at the future Townsite of Matachewan. Real Growth of the community began after the discovery of gold ore 20 years later. In 1932 the Ashley Mine went into production.
With mining came the need for good transportation. The first road into Matachewan, today Highway 65, was opened from the railhead at Elk Lake to Matachewan in 1937.
The road to Ashley Mine, today Highway 566 was completed in 1932 and crossed the Montreal River at Matachewan on a floating bridge. This structure was replaced in 1936 with a permanent timber bridge that remained in use until 2007 when the present concrete bridge opened.
The 1936 bridge was initially known as Moyneur’s Bridge, named after John Moyneur who settled on the future Townsite in 1918. He later built Moyneur Hotel, beside the bridge, which stands in 2007 as Camp Matachewan.
The 1936 bridge consisted of seven spans with length of 53.4 m and width of 8.9 m. The spans were supported on timber piles braced together and timber clad to protect the piles from ice and debris damage. The deck framing was of heavy timber beams that supported the roadway made of 2 by 4’s laid on edge. During the bridges' 71 year life, all of the timber remained sound apart from rebuilding the sidewalk and road resurfacing. Come out and see the Heritage Bridge constructed from materials salvaged from the old Bridge.