West Montrose, Ontario

West Montrose
—  Unincorporated community  —
Covered bridge at West Montrose.
Coordinates: 43°35′18″N 80°28′55″W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Regional municipality	Waterloo
Township	Woolwich
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Forward sortation area	N0B 2V0
Area code(s)	519 and 226
NTS Map	040P09
GNBC Code	FDCNQ

Entrance to the bridge

Interior of the bridge

West Montrose bridge plaque

West Montrose is a village in the Township of Woolwich in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Location

West Montrose straddles the Grand River, north of the City of Waterloo. Together with nearby St. Jacobs, Ontario and Elmira, Ontario, West Montrose lies in the heart of an area where there is a historically large settlement of Old Order Mennonites noted for their traditional customs, dress and use of horse and buggies.

Noted local feature

The West Montrose covered bridge was constructed in 1881 by John and Benjamin Bear and is best known for being the last remaining historical covered bridge in Ontario. These bridges were known colloquially as 'kissing bridges' since couples would be out of sight as they passed through the bridge. While the original bridge was constructed entirely of wood, in a series of repairs and restorations the bridge uses a combination of materials but retains its original form. In 1960 the bridge was recognized as an historic site by the Ontario Archaeological and Historic Sites Board and was designated as a heritage site in 1975.

See also

• Covered bridges in North America

External links

• Ontario Plaques - The West Montrose Covered Bridge
• Bridgekeepers Association
• West Montrose at Geographical Names of Canada