La Vieille Gare de Rivière-Bleue

Place de la Vieille Gare is a heritage and tourist island that bears witness to the past of the village of Rivière-Bleue and the Transcontinental region. It houses two old train stations as well as an authentic nuclear shelter. It offers exhibitions with audio guides, guided tours and activities for the whole family.

Exhibitions

THE LITTLE HISTORY OF RIVIÈRE-BLUE

The The first inhabitants settled at Beau Lac at the end of the 1850s. But it was not until the installation of Blue River Lumber, built at the crossroads of the Bleue and Saint-François rivers, and the construction of the railway in 1913 that that Rivière-Bleue takes off.

STATION AGENTS AND LIFE AT THE STATION

From 1915, the station agent and his family lived at the station. The center of village life, activity is very intense, day and night, and the non-stop crackling telegraph connects us to the world.

THE STATION AND THE NATIONAL TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY

From 1908 to 1914, the construction of the railway between Edmundston and Pelletier required more than 500 workers, the majority of whom were Italian. The first station built in Tarte was moved to Rivière-Bleue. Many tools from this era were still used until the 1950s.

THE TÉMISCOUATA RAILWAYS

Models, artifacts, videos will help you discover the fascinating world of the two railways who crisscrossed our region: the National Transcontinental Railway and the Temiscouata Railway.

BOOTLEGGING “A DROP OF HISTORY”

Interpretation panels and a web tour will take you back into the turbulent era of prohibition in the 1920s. The themes of temperance, the arrival of Alfred Lévesque in Rivière-Bleue, particular contraband due to the strategic position of Rivière-Bleue, the production of adulterated alcohol and dynamics linked to popular favor, opposition from the clergy and repression by the Liquor Police.