Will Henry Stevens Covered Bridge, IMG_6688

I didn’t know of the existence of this bridge until I drove by Highway 74 in Highlands, North Carolina in search of waterfalls.  I will quote the information I’ve found about this historical overpass.

“You simply can’t get more picturesque than Will Henry Stevens Covered Bridge. A little research revealed this bridge was once considered the oldest covered bridge in New Hampshire. It was named Bagley Covered Bridge and it crossed the Warner River, until it was considered a hazard from its aging condition. The bridge was scheduled to be destroyed until Milton & Arnold Graton, lovers of historic bridges,  purchased it in 1966 and placed it in storage for the next 42 years.

The bridge was built in approximately 1807 out of old growth pine. It is around 14 feet wide and almost 88 feet long. In February of 2008 it was gifted to the Bascom Art Center as a perfect entrance to their facility and reconstruction completed in 2009. This bridge looks like a totally new structure, but in fact is now over 200 years old. The design is Town lattice and uses over 1,100 wooden fasteners in keeping with the original 1800’s bridge building traditions. I’m guessing the flares at the bottom were not original to the bridge, but are characteristic of Carolina-style covered bridges.

SIDE NOTE: Famous people said to have once crossed this bridge are General Lafayette, President Theodore Roosevelt & President Franklin Pierce.”

Lower Cox Brook Covered Bridge, Northfield Vt.-93E1845

This locality is the only place in Vermont where one can see a historic covered bridge over one stream from another one over a different stream.

Upper Cox Brook Covered Bridge, Northfield Vermont-93E1838

It is one of five surviving 19th-century covered bridges in the town, and one of three on the same road. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.  It is the westernmost of three covered bridges on Cox Brook Road; the other two are the Northfield Falls Covered Bridge (crossing the river), and the Lower Cox Brook Covered Bridge, which will show in next posts. The bridge is of Queen post truss design, its two trusses 51.5 feet (15.7 m) in length, and resting on abutments either faced or rebuilt in concrete.

Warren Covered Bridge, Vermont-93E1819

he Warren Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge that crosses the Mad River in Warren, Vermont on Covered Bridge Road. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.  easy to miss while driving the Scenic Route 100 Byway.

This trusses on this bridge are covered not only on the outside, but on the inside as well… one of only two bridges left in the state with similar construction (the other being the School House Covered Bridge).

Quechee Covered Bridge, Vermont-93E1757

The Quechee Bridge is a one span 70 foot long steel stringer bridge. It carries Waterman Hill Road, in Quechee, the over Ottaquechee River. This bridge was built in 1970.

This covered bridge has a more modern look.

Lincoln Covered Bridge- West Woodstock, Vermont- 93E1632

The Lincoln Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge, just south of Route 4 in West Woodstock, Vermont. Built in 1877, it is one of the only known examples of a wooden Pratt truss bridge in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973

Here a truck coming out from the back of the bridge.  I was told that there was a community leaving in the background.

Side shot.

View of Pratt truss in wood.  This form is seen much more widely in metal bridges built later.

Covered Bridge- Woodstock, Vermont-93E1589

I have been fascinated by Covered Bridges after I read the book and saw the movie titled” The Bridge of Madison county.”  I would drive several miles in quasi unpopulated towns only to have a look at covered bridges and take several snapshots.  Below is one of the first ones I uncovered while driving to the state of Vermont last month.

When you think of covered bridge, you wonder why this fascination to them?  For the most part, they are located in remote and rural areas.  For some towns, they represent their most treasured landmarks and in Vermont while reaching 104 covered bridges in total, they typify the beauty and grace of simple structures.

A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof and siding which, in most covered bridges, create an almost complete enclosure.  The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered wooden bridges have a lifespan of only 10 to 15 years because of the effects of rain and sun.

 

Bridges having covers for reasons other than protecting wood trusses, such as for protecting pedestrians and keeping horses from shying away from water, are also sometimes called covered bridges.  Below is the pedestrian walkway.

Here you can see the other side of the covered bridge.

A nice wooden structure for this bridge in Woodstock .