Description of Historic Place

The Koksilah River Truss Bridge is a one-lane, timber bridge with a Howe truss configuration located at Koksilah Road near Riverside Road in British Columbia.

Heritage Value

The Koksilah River Truss Bridge has historic value for being emblematic of the way European settlers made their livelihoods within the Cowichan Station. The earliest European settlers to the Cowichan area arrived on boat via the HMS Hecate into Cowichan Bay. Until the construction of the bridge, they waded through the Koksilah River or crossed by log with their possessions and food rations. William Shearing, one of the original settlers in the area, built Koksilah Road and the original bridge in 1876. It allowed the movement of goods, unloaded in Cowichan Bay to reach the settlers in the area. It also allowed for the movement of lumber, stone from the Koksilah Quarry, and ore from one of the 19 established mines in the area, to be transported from Cowichan to Victoria. The current bridge was erected in 1939 after the original bridge was extensively damaged from a major winter flood in 1934.

The Koksilah bridge also has aesthetic and scientific value for its rare design. The bridge is a one-way timber Howe truss design with an adjoining pedestrian walkway. Massachusetts resident William Howe patented the design for the Howe truss in 1840. Bridges of this design combine diagonal timber compressions members with vertical iron rods and were more suitable for longer spans than previous designs had been. Howe truss bridges are increasingly rare as most timber bridges in North American have been replaced.

SOURCE: Cowichan Valley Regional District, Planning and Development Services Department

Character-Defining Elements

The key elements that define the character of the Koksilah River Truss Bridge include its:
- original location, spanning the Koksilah river, at the location of an earlier bridge
- Howe truss configuration and structure including timber and iron materials
- views to and into the bridge from the north and south banks of the Koksilah River
- one-way construction with adjoining pedestrian walkway