ACGA 5th Anniversary Geocoin NB

This replica coin is part of a set of four (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland). The challenge for these coins will be to travel the world spreading the history of Atlantic Canada and encourage others to come and discover. Hopefully each coin will get the opportunity to visit the Province which it represents at least once. These coins are the first ones I have ever purchased and are a limited edition collectors set, I would like to hang onto the real ones therefore I made these copies so tracking is still possible. Enjoy the journey. 

The Hartland Bridge in Hartland, New Brunswick, is the world's longest covered bridge, at 1,282 feet (391 m) long. It crosses the Saint John Riverfrom Hartland to Somerville in Canada. The framework consists of seven small Howe Truss bridges joined together on six piers. The bridge was constructed in 1901 by the Hartland Bridge Company. It was funded by tolls until it was purchased by the provincial government in 1906. The bridge was not originally built covered. The 1907 fire burnt some of the structure and nearly destroyed the toll house. In 1920, two spans of the bridge collapsed due to river ice. The bridge reopened in 1922 after construction to repair the structure, at which time the bridge was also covered, despite some local opposition. The wooden piers were also converted to concrete.

A pedestrian walkway was added to the bridge in 1945. In 1966, vandals attempted to burn the bridge down. The bridge was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1980and a Provincial Historic Site in 1999. In 1982, the bridge was again closed for repairs after a car struck a steel beam, causing part of the bridge to drop. The bridge was reopened to traffic on February 10, 1983. In the winter of 2007, the bridge was closed, due to the central beam splitting down the middle, it has since been reopened after repairs were carried out. When the bridge was mostly used by horse and wagon, couples would stop half-way across to share a kiss. The first wedding on the bridge was celebrated in September 1993 between Charmaine Laffoley and David Hunt from Toronto.