Vermont Covered Bridges:
Central Vermont

Here are some of the bridges we've featured which are located in Central Vermont.  Each month we feature a different bridge.  If you missed the other featured bridges, you might want to take a look at our Index by Region and County or follow some of the other links on the left.

Central Vermont

Salisbury or Station Bridge in Cornwall and Salisbury, Vt

  
Photo: Copyright 2001 Dave MacKenzie

Description: This bridge is co-owned and maintained by the towns of Cornwall and Salisbury. Other historical names for the bridge include: Cornwall, Salisbury, Creek Road, Cedar Swamp, Salisbury Station and Station. The bridge was built in 1865 by an unknown builder and was reported to have been painted bright yellow with red trim. During the 1860's, the "Station" Bridge worked in tandem with the railroads and provided Cornwall with a vital economic link to the railway shipping point in Salisbury,  giving farmers access to markets.

About one-third of a mile north of the bridge is the place where pioneer widow Ann Story brought her family through the Indian raids of the Revolutionary War by digging a hideout in the banks of Otter Creek and living there. Please see our History section for more details.

Size: 154 feet long, 14  feet wide

Year Built: 1865

Builder: Unknown

Crosses: Otter Creek and Swamp Road (Cornwall) and Creek Road (Salisbury)

Type: Town Lattice

Shoreham Railroad Bridge in Shoreham, VT

Photo: Copyright 1998 Dave MacKenzie

Description: The Shoreham Bridge is one of two remaining railroad covered bridges in Vermont. It underwent major restoration in 1983...new roof, new siding, and new eastern abutment. Not in use as a railroad bridge since 1951, a plank walkway has replaced the rails.

The Addison Branch of the Rutland Railroad played a major role in the daily lives of the dairy farmers, sheep farmers and others who depended on the railroad to ship and receive their goods. However, the rail spur was never a main railroad route. The end of World War II brought highway improvements and the beginning of the trucking era, which ultimately spelled the end for the Addison Branch and the Shoreham Covered Railroad Bridge.

Photo: Copyright 1998 Dave MacKenzie

Size: 109 feet long, 20 feet wide

Year Built: 1897

Builder: Rutland Railroad Company

Crosses: Richville Pond (an impoundment of the Lemon Fair River)

Type: Howe

Hyde or Kingsbury in South Randolph, Vt

  
Photos: Copyright 2000 Dave MacKenzie

Description: According to Joseph C. Nelson, "The span was built in 1904 and restored in 1980. Since then, it was closed to traffic for a number of years because of ice damage. The damage did not deter a farmer, who used the closed bridge for storing his equipment out of the weather. It was reopened in 1994 after reconstruction."

Size: 46 feet long, 16  feet wide

Year Built: 1904

Builder: Unknown

Crosses: Second Branch of the White River and Kingsbury Road

Type: Multiple Kingpost

Thetford Center or Sayers Bridge in Thetford Center, VT

  
Photos: Copyright 2000 Dave MacKenzie

Description: According to Joseph C. Nelson, "The Sayers Bridge, thought by some to be a Haupt Truss span, is the only one of its kind in New England, and one of just three in the United States. While the names of the builders are lost, the truss designer is remembered by Civil War buffs as the colonel who built and ran the U.S. Military Railroad in the South for Union forces." The bridge was considered to be both ingenious and ambitious in its structure. Due to the massiveness of the bridge, in 1963, four steel beams were added underneath to help it carry heavy traffic.

Size: 127 feet long, 18  feet wide

Year Built: Unknown

Builder: Unknown

Crosses: East Ompompanoosuc River and Tucker Hill Road

Type: Haupt

Former Mill Bridge in Tunbridge, VT

Photos: Copyright 1999 Dave MacKenzie

Description: Mill Bridge was previously known as Spring Road, Hayward, and Noble Bridge. On March 5, 1999, this historic bridge was lost when the ice went out of the First Branch of the White River. These photographs were taken by Dave MacKenzie before the bridge was destroyed.

A non-profit group has been formed in Tunbridge, VT to help raise the necessary funds to rebuild the Mill Bridge. While it is hoped that some of the original structural members may be used, the bulk of the project will be a replica of the original. The Mill Bridge Group hopes to raise the necessary funds to pay the difference between what the Vermont Department of Transportation will pay and what the replica of the bridge will cost. If you or your organization would like to donate, please contact: Euclid Farnham, 24 Cross Road, Tunbridge, VT   05077  telephone: 802-889-2358

The following information refers to the original bridge, which the Mill Bridge Group hopes to rebuild.

Size: 72 feet long, 16 feet wide

Year Built: 1883

Builder: Arthur C. Adams

Crosses: First Branch of the White River and Spring Road

Type: Multiple Kingpost

Union Village Bridge in Thetford, VT

Photo: Copyright 1999 Dave MacKenzie

Size: 111  feet long, 13.7 feet wide

Year Built: 1867

Builder: Unknown

Crosses: Ompompanoosuc River and Academy Road

Type: Multiple kingpost with kingpost arch

Kingsley Bridge in East Clarendon, VT

Description: Located very close to Route 103 heading north to Rutland, Kingsley Bridge crosses over Mill River. A waterfall and restored mill are nearby.

Size: 120.6 feet long, 14.1 feet wide, 9.3 feet high at truss, 12.9 feet high at center

Year Built: 1870

Builder: Timothy Horton

Crosses: Mill River and East Street

Alternate Name: Mill River

Type: Town Lattice

Cooley Bridge in Pittsford, VT

Photo: Copyright 1998 Richard St. Peter

Description: Cooley Bridge crosses Furnace Brook in the rolling countryside between the villages of Pittsford and Proctor. Ed Barna describes Cooley Bridge as "a red-painted shortie with its distinctive overhanging gables . . . a misplaced Conestoga wagon, which it indeed resembles." The bridge earned its name for the family who owned the land around it. The family is descended from Gideon Cooley, veteran of the French and Indian Wars. Approximately 400 acres of land on the east and west sides of the brook was known as the Cooley Farm.

Size: 50.5 feet long, 15.2 feet wide

Year Built: 1849

Builder: Nicholas Powers

Crosses: Furnace Brook and Elm Street

Type: Town Lattice

Hammond Bridge in Pittsford, VT

Description: A charming bridge with a green standing seam metal roof, this bridge has been bypassed by a modern bridge, which is where we stood to photograph it. It has been closed off and no traffic is allowed. The Hammond Bridge got its name from a family living nearby. See Ed Barna's Covered Bridges of Vermont for more details about how this bridge was rescued from the Flood of 1927 and how to get to it.

Size: 139 feet long

Year Built: 1842

Builder: Asa Nourse

Crosses: Otter Creek, next to Kendall Hill Road

Alternate Name: None known

Type: Town Lattice

Gorham Bridge in Proctor, VT

Photo: Copyright 1998 Dave MacKenzie

Description: Gorham Bridge is also known as Goodnough Bridge, with both names originating from local residents of the Proctor/Pittsford area. Abraham Owens and Nicholas Powers, each bridge builders in their own right, collaborated on building this town lattice style bridge in 1842. Washed off its foundations in the Flood of 1927, it was still in good enough shape to be hauled out of the water later and repaired.

Photo: Copyright 2000 Richard St. Peter

Size: 114 feet long, 16.7 feet wide

Year Built: 1842

Builder: Nicholas Powers and Abraham Owen

Crosses: Otter Creek and Gorham Bridge Road

Type: Town Lattice

Brown Bridge in Shrewsbury, VT

Description: This is one of our favorite bridges because it's right down the road from Mile Square Farm. It's located in a fairly secluded spot between Upper Cold River Road and Cold River Road. This is a local swimming hole, so take along your swimming suit during warm weather.

Size: 112.4 feet long, 13.3 feet wide, 8.8 feet high at truss, 11.6 feet high at center

Year Built: 1880

Builder: Nicholas Powers

Crosses: Upper Cold River and Lower Cold River

Alternate Name: None known

Type: Town Lattice

Martin / Orton Farm Bridge in Marshfield, VT

Photo: Copyright 1998 Dave MacKenzie

Description: The Martin Bridge or Orton Farm Bridge crosses the Winooski River near Plainfield and Marshfield. Built in 1890, it was believed by some to the the last surviving example of the work of Herman F. Townsend. Always a private bridge, it was first known as the Martin Bridge. When the Orton family purchased the land and built the Orton Barn, it became known as the Orton Bridge. Under new ownership, the bridge goes once again by Martin Bridge. Although the barn has a relatively new roof, the floor planking is rotted, the wood is weathered and a cattle gate is hinged on one of the queenposts. Traffic is not permitted, due to the deterioration of the bridge. 

Photo: Copyright 1998 Dave MacKenzie

Size: 45 feet long, 10 feet wide

Year Built: 1890

Builder: Herman F. Townsend

Crosses: Winooski River

Type: Queenpost

Moseley Bridge in Northfield. VT

 
Photo: Copyright 2002 Richard St. Peter

Description: This bridge, built in 1899 by John Moseley, is said to have been the last kingpost bridge built on a public highway in Vermont. In 1971, the bridge underwent major construction and five steel support beams were added. The abutments, large granite blocks, were faced with concrete in 1990.

Other Names:  Stoney Brook 

Size:  36 feet long, ~ 16  feet wide

Year Built: 1899

Builder: John Moseley

Crosses: Stony Brook and Stony Brook Road (Town Highway 8)

Type: modified kingpost

The Northfield Falls, VT Bridges: Station, Newell, Upper and Slaughter Bridges

 
Photo: Copyright 2002 Richard St. Peter

Description: Ed Barna describes Station, Newell and Upper Bridges as "three red jewels strung on the same necklace, all within 0.4 mile of each other on Cox Brook Road." If you look through Station Bridge above, you can just see Newell or Second Bridge in the distance, the only place in New England where this is the case. Beyond Newell Bridge is Upper or Upper Cox Bridge, approximately a tenth of a mile up the road.

Northfield, chartered by the state in 1781, was often referred to as "Northfield-on-the-Dog." (The "dog" is the Dog River.) The river was said to get its name when a hunter's dog fell through thin ice and drowned while pursuing a moose. This small industrial town thrived for a period of time due to the waterpower from the Dog River and Cox Brook.

The Slaughter House Bridge stands near the abandoned site of an old slaughterhouse and is painted red like the other three bridges. 

Station Bridge

Other Names:  Station; Northfield Falls 

Size: 137 feet long, ~ 16  feet wide

Year Built: around 1872

Builder: unknown

Crosses: Dog River and Cox Brook Road

Type: Town Lattice 

Newell Bridge

Photo: Copyright 2002 Richard St. Peter

Other Names:   Newell; Lower Cox Brook; Middle Bridge; Second Bridge  

Size: 57 feet long, ~ 16  feet wide

Year Built: around 1872

Builder: unknown

Crosses: Cox Brook Road and Cox Brook

Type: Queenpost 

Upper Bridge

Photo: Copyright 2002 Richard St. Peter

Other Names:  Upper; Upper Cox Bridge; Third Bridge

Size: 52 feet long, ~13  feet wide

Year Built: around 1872

Builder: unknown

Crosses: Cox Brook and Cox Brook Road

Type: Queenpost

Slaughter Bridge

Photo: Copyright 2002 Richard St. Peter

Other Names:  Slaughter; Slaughterhouse

Size: 60 feet long, ~12  feet wide

Year Built: around 1872

Builder: unknown

Crosses: Dog River and Bailey Street

Type: Queenpost

Warren Bridge in Warren, VT

 
Photo: Copyright 2001 Richard St. Peter

Description: The Town of Warren, chartered in 1780, developed as a mill town due to the Mad River running through the center of the town. A hoe handle factory, a clothes pin factory, a dowel, chair stock, and rolling pin mill and a wooden bowl factory existed in the town. Warren Bridge is located within the village Historic Residential District. Built in 1880 by Walter Bagley, it is particularly noteworthy due to its unique asymmetrical design: a vertical east portal, but upper side walls that project differently at the west portal.

Size: 55 feet long, 13  feet wide

Year Built: 1880

Builder: Walter Bagley

Crosses: Mad River and Covered Bridge Road Lake Road

Type: Queenpost 

Bowers Bridge in West Windsor,,VT

Photos: Copyright 1999 Dave MacKenzie

Description:  Bowers Bridge, also known as Brownsville Bridge, historically served farms in the Rowe Hill and Sheddsville areas of West Windsor. According to Joseph Nelson, "the bridge was built in the early 1900s by an unknown craftsman and uses a simple arch-truss constructed of a laminate of five ten-inch planks. The chords are suspended from the arches on three-quarter-inch iron rods, the whole protected by a post-and-beam shed set upon the bridge deck. Bowers Bridge is essentially a copy of the older Best Bridge two miles to the west."

Size: 45  feet long, 12 feet wide

Year Built: 1919

Builder: Unknown

Crosses: Mill Brook and Ely Road

Type: Tied arch

Twigg-smith Bridge in West Windsor, VT

Photos: Copyright 1999 Dave MacKenzie

Description: The Twigg-Smith Bridge crosses over Mill Brook in the valley below Mount Ascutney. This bridge is a twin to the Smith Bridge in South Pomfret, built from the trusses of the retired Garfield Bridge. Vermont developer Thurston Twigg-Smith bought the disused Garfield Bridge in the late 1960s. The old bridge was dissembled and the trusses, approximately one hundred feet long, were cut in half. Both bridges were assembled in 1973 and used as entranceways for two planned developments. The Twigg-Smith Bridge has since been altered to increase passage height -- notice large rectangular pieces of the portals have been cut out and the upper bracing has been changed. 

Size: Unknown

Year Built: 1973

Builder: Cummings Construction

Crosses: Mill Brook and Yale Road

Type: Plank Lattice

Upper Falls Bridge in Weathersfield, VT

Photo: Copyright 1998 Dave MacKenzie

Description: Upper Falls Bridge, also known as Downers Bridge is located in Weathersfield, VT and crosses the Black River. The bridge underwent extensive restoration in the mid-1970's by Milton Graton. According to Ed Barna, they rebuilt trusses, raised the bridge 2.5 feet so water would not flow in and damage the timbers, and reframed the floor system with heavier timbers. This bridge has many noteworthy features and is well worth a visit.

Photo: Copyright 1998 Dave MacKenzie

Size: 120 feet long, 14.6 feet wide

Year Built: 1840

Builder: James F. Tasker

Crosses: Black River and Upper Falls Road

Type: Town Lattice

Middle or Union Street Bridge in Woodstock, Vt

  
Photo: Copyright 2000 Richard St. Peter

Description: You might be surprised to learn this is a modern bridge. Built in 1969 by Milton Graton, the new covered bridge replaced the 1877 iron Union Street Bridge, which was condemned in the mid-1960's. According to Ed Barna: "Gin poles (guyed, leaning poles to pull an object up with cables) had to bring the trusses into position, since a neighbor refused to allow jacking on his land. Finally, with support cribbing in the stream and a wooden track for rollers built on Union Street, the assembled bridge was pulled over the river by Ben and Joe, two local oxen, to the delight of hundreds of spectators."

Unfortunately, the new bridge was set ablaze by pranksters on May 11, 1974, the night of the local fireman's ball. Due to the heroic efforts of the volunteer fire department and the fireproofing system installed by Graton, the bridge structure was saved. After sandblasting and replacement of nonessential boards, the bridge was back in service by 1976.

Size: 139 feet long, 14  feet wide

Year Built: 1969

Builder: Milton S. Graton

Crosses: Ottauquechee River and Union Street

Type: Town Lattice

Lincoln Bridge in Woodstock, VT

Photos: Copyright 1999 Dave MacKenzie

Description:  Lincoln Bridge, located in Woodstock, was named for a family who owned land nearby. The bridge is of national significance because the builders implemented a complex wood-and-iron truss devised by T. Willis Pratt 33 years earlier. This bridge was renovated in 1947 and again in 1989. Apparently there was quite an uproar from the lovers of authentic bridges, when they discovered that the selectmen had specified green fiberglass panels for the roof to add visibility to the interior.

Size: 136 feet long, 14 feet wide

Year Built: 1877

Builder: R.W. Pinney and B.H. Pinney

Crosses: Ottauquechee River and Flecther Hill Road

Type: Modified Pratt tied arch

Cornish-Windsor Bridge

Description: This must be a treacherous location since there were three previous bridges at this crossing of the Connecticut River, all destroyed by floods. The "Windsor-Cornish Bridge", the name preferred by the locals in Vermont, links Cornish, New Hampshire and Windsor, Vermont by crossing the Connecticut River.The bridge is a site of national historical importance since at 449 feet it is the longest wooden bridge in the country and the longest two-span wooden bridge in the world. This bridge underwent major restoration work during the late 1980's, with neighboring New Hampshire footing most of the $4.65 million bill.

Size: 449.4 feet long, 34 feet wide, 9.3 feet high at truss, 12.75 feet high

Year Built: 1866

Builder: James F. Tasker and Bela J. Fletcher

Crosses: Connecticut River and Cornish Toll Bridge Road in New Hampshire; Bridge Street in Vermont

Alternate Name: Windsor-Cornish

Type: Town Lattice

Mount Orne Bridge in Lunenburg, VT

Photo: Copyright 1998 Dave MacKenzie

Description: The 267-foot Mount Orne Bridge replaced a toll bridge that was destroyed by a logjam in 1908. A ferry connected Lunenburg, VT and Lancaster, New Hampshire until the new bridge was built in 1911. Floor repairs were needed in 1969 and a major restoration of the bridge took place in 1983. Lunenburg, Lancaster, New Hampshire, Vermont and the National Park Service all contributed funds to pay the $133,000 necessary to restore the bridge.

Photo: Copyright 1998 Dave MacKenzie

Size: 267 feet long, 20 feet wide

Year Built: 1911

Builder: Charles Babbitt

Crosses: River Road, Connecticut River, and New Hampshire Route 135

Type: Howe Truss

Covered Bridge Resources

If you need directions, our Vermont Atlas and Gazetteer will help you find the bridges. In fact, it has an entire section on covered bridges. See Ed Barna's Covered Bridges of Vermont for more details and driving/parking tips or check-out the illustrated map and guide, Vermont Covered Bridges Map and Guide by Robert Hartnett and Ed Barna. Joseph C. Nelson's book, Spanning Time: Vermont's Covered Bridges, is also a good reference book on covered bridges. (All are available in our Country Bookstore)

Vermont Scenic Calendars, Collection of Twelve Vermont Prints and Vermont Fall Foliage Puzzles -- enjoy Vermont every day of the year! For the armchair traveler, check-out our Vermont Videos - featuring some of Vermont's finest covered bridges.