E&N Stone Trestle

The E & N Stone Trestle is 2.9 m tall stone bridge located in Cowichan Station, Electoral Area E, in British Columbia.

Constructed in 1908, the E & N Stone Trestle has historic value as an iconic reminder of Cowichan Station's settlement pattern history. The construction of the railway was tasked to Robert Dunsmuir to transport coal and lumber from Nanaimo to Victoria. The bridge provides a window into the economic and social history of the Cowichan Station. It serves as a reminder that the railway was the impetus for the development of the area.

The bridge also has aesthetic value in its stone from the Koksilah Quarry. The bridge was constructed out of stone from the Koksilah Quarry by railway workers. The stone, olive-coloured when cut, weathered to light gray, had practically no cleavage lines, and had to be sawn by a rotary method, a steel wire fed with quartz dust. The bridge remains today as it was built. It is owned by the Island Corridor Foundation.

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

The key elements that define the character of the E&N Stone Trestle include its:

- original location

- original construction materials including stone from the Koksilah Quarry