A Canadian Family

My Most Boring Postcard Ever

If I had to choose the single most boring postcard in my collection then this one would definitely make the top 5! 

It’s an  early 20th century view of the old cantilevered C.P.R. bridge which connects Montreal Island’s Lachine to south shore Kahnawake and I’m sure it’s something only a railroad enthusiast could love! But what many people don’t know is that this bridge had a profound effect on the lives of the Kahnawake Mohawk in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The  story began in the mid-1880s when the Dominion Bridge Company of Canada was contracted to erect a railroad bridge for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Dominion Bridge soon found that they needed a piece of Caughnawaga’s land for the south shore end of the bridge, so in exchange for permission to build, the company agreed to give as many jobs as possible to the Mohawk of Caughnawaga. The work began and they kept their promise, but the jobs they offered were only for menial labour and they soon found that the Mohawk …..

“were dissatisfied with this arrangement and would come out on the bridge itself every chance they got. It was quite impossible to keep them off. As the work progressed, it became apparent to all concerned that these Indians were very odd in that they did not have any fear of heights. If not watched, they would climb up into the spans and walk around there as cool and collected as the toughest of our riveters, most of whom at that period were old sailing-ship men especially picked for their experience in working aloft. These Indians were as agile as goats. They would walk a narrow beam high up in the air with nothing below them but the river, which is rough there and ugly to look down on, and it wouldn’t mean any more to them than walking on solid ground. They seemed immune to the noise of the riveting, which goes right through you and is often enough in itself to make newcomers to construction feel sick and dizzy …..”

Joseph Mitchell, Skyscrapers and Oysters at:

American Experience – The Center of the World, New York

By the end of the C.P.R. project many Mohawk had become accomplished riveters and this was their first step toward becoming the world-famous ironworkers who worked on many of New York’s most impressive structures including the New York World Trade Center.

Of course, Dominion Bridge company was not only important to the Mohawk. It played an important part in Lachine’s industrial history and employed thousands and thousands of Montrealers (including several of my ancestors). Some of their local building projects included: Windsor Station and the Champlain, Honore Mercier and Jacques Cartier bridges.

Everytime I cross the nearby Mercier Bridge, I glance over at this bridge – but I don’t just see an old bridge – I see a monument to over a hundred years of industrial history and to the workers of all backgrounds who made it happen!

Further Reading:

Smithsonian – Booming Out: Mohawk Ironworkers

To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey | PBS

Related Posts:

The Iroquois of Kahnawake

March 2, 2010 - Posted by Evelyn Yvonne Theriault | . | bridge, ironworkers, Kahnawake, railroad history, railway