Vaughan Creek Irish River #1 bridge in New Brunswick (John Morris)
At a summertime rally in 2019, with the fate of a local tourism hot spot up in the air, one in five residents of a New Brunswick community blocked traffic in a show of force. Fully two-thirds of the population signed a petition asking for the landmark’s protection. Some waved hand-written signs: “SAVE OUR BRIDGE.”
The demonstration may sound impressively large, but only about 300 people live in St. Martins, a half-hour’s drive east of Saint John on the Bay of Fundy. Visitors are always streaming in and out, though, getting their portraits snapped at an iconic spot where you can see a lighthouse and two covered bridges—those distinctive timber structures so familiar to East Coasters—in the same frame.