Things to See & Do

Shellmouth Swing Bridge

Community: Shellmouth

Shellmouth was settled in the early 1880s and by 1885 it was already a thriving community with a large sawmill, a four-storey hotel, a large stone livery barn, three stores, two blacksmith shops and a population of 118.  During the floods of  the 1880s, steamboats navigated the Assiniboine River.

In 1885 a wooden swing bridge was constructed to permit boats to pass up and down the river carrying freight to communities enroute.  When the lower water level in the valley made the swing bridge and its high piers unnecessary, a new steel bridge was built in 1908.  This was replaced by the present bridge in 1991.