Best's Covered Bridge
Best's Covered Bridge | |
43°27′19″N 72°30′58″W / 43.45528°N 72.51611°W / 43.45528; -72.51611 | |
Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
---|---|
NRHP reference No. | 73000210[1] |
Added to NRHP | July 2, 1973 |
Best's Covered Bridge (aka Swallow's Bridge) is a historic covered bridge in West Windsor, Vermont, that carries Churchill Road over Mill Creek, just south of Vermont Route 44. Built in 1889, it is an architecturally distinctive laminated arch structure with a post-and-beam superstructure. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[1]
Description and history
Best's Covered Bridge is located about 8 miles (13 km) west of Windsor's village center, just south of VT 44 on Churchill Road. It is a single-span laminated arch structure, with a total length of 37 feet (11 m) and a roadway width of 12.5 feet (3.8 m) (one lane). It rests on stone abutments. The arch is formed out of five layers of planking that have been laminated and bolted together. The floor stringers are supported by iron suspension rods descending from the arches, which are complemented by wooden posts rising above the arches. The arches are protected by a post-and-beam frame structure, its exterior clad in vertical boarding, with a metal roof overhead.[2]
The bridge was built in 1889 by Stephen F. Hammond (1836–1913), a local wheelwright from Brownsville. Some sources state that Amasa W. Swallow (1829–1894) built the bridge, an error that may have originated in a misreading of the 1889 town report. Documentary evidence suggests that the notation, "new covered bridge by Amasa W. Swallow," is actually a reference to the bridge's location.[3]
The bridge's names come from Amasa W. Swallow, who owned the adjacent farm in the 1880s, and William Edgar Best (1869–1971), who in 1896, two years after Swallow's death, purchased the property.[3][4][5]
The laminated arch construction is unusual for 19th-century bridges in Vermont, but is well suited for use on a short crossing on a lightly traveled road.[2][5]
See also
Other covered bridges in Windsor County, Vermont
- Bowers Covered Bridge
- Lincoln Covered Bridge
- Martin's Mill Covered Bridge (Hartland, Vermont)
- Taftsville Covered Bridge
- Willard Covered Bridge
Other covered bridges in nearby Cornish
- Blow-Me-Down Covered Bridge, built by James Tasker
- Blacksmith Shop Covered Bridge, now only foot traffic, built by James Tasker
- Dingleton Hill Covered Bridge, built by James Tasker
- Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge, built by James Tasker
Other bridges elsewhere
- List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Vermont
- List of crossings of the Connecticut River
- List of New Hampshire covered bridges
- List of covered bridges in Vermont
- Old Blenheim Bridge – previous claim of longest single covered span
- Bridgeport Covered Bridge – another claim of longest single covered span
- Hartland Bridge – The longest covered bridge in the world (located in Hartland, New Brunswick, Canada)
- List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
- List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
National Register listings of area bridges
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b "NRHP nomination for Best's Covered Bridge". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
- ^ a b Bennett, Lola (2004). "Swallow's Bridge (Best's Bridge)" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ "West Windsor," Springfield Reporter (Springfield, Vermont), May 1, 1896, p. 4, col. 4 (www
.newspapers ).com /clip /50748765 /springfield-reporter / - ^ a b "Best Covered Bridge". Vermont Covered Bridges. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
External links
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. VT-36, "Swallow's Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook at Churchill Road, Windsor, Windsor County, VT", 7 photos, 16 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
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Historic
Landmarks
- Advent Camp Meeting Grounds Historic District
- Ascutney Mill Dam Historic District
- Ascutney State Park
- Bethel Village Historic District
- Theron Boyd Homestead
- Brigham Hill Historic District
- Brook Farm
- Chester Village Historic District
- Christian Street Rural Historic District
- Coolidge State Park
- Fletcher–Fullerton Farm
- Goodrich Four Corners Historic District
- Hartford Village Historic District
- Jericho Rural Historic District
- King Farm
- Ludlow Village Historic District
- Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
- Gen. Lewis R. Morris House
- Norwich Mid-Century Modern Historic District
- Norwich Village Historic District
- Parker Hill Rural Historic District ‡
- Plymouth Historic District
- Quechee Historic Mill District
- Isaac M. Raymond Farm
- Saddlebow Farm
- Slayton–Morgan Historic District
- South Royalton Historic District
- South Woodstock Village Historic District
- Southview Housing Historic District
- Springfield Downtown Historic District
- Stockbridge Common Historic District
- Stone Village Historic District
- Taftsville Historic District
- Terraces Historic District
- Weathersfield Center Historic District
- West Hartford Village Historic District
- Weston Village Historic District
- White River Junction Historic District
- Wilder Village Historic District
- Wilgus State Park
- Windsor Village Historic District
- Woodstock Village Historic District
- Best's Covered Bridge
- Bowers Covered Bridge
- Bridge 15
- Bridgewater Corners Bridge
- Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge‡
- Gilead Brook Bridge
- Gould's Mill Bridge
- Iron Bridge at Howard Hill Road
- Kendron Brook Bridge
- Lincoln Covered Bridge
- Martin's Mill Covered Bridge
- Ottauquechee River Bridge
- Quechee Gorge Bridge
- Spaulding Bridge
- Stockbridge Four Corners Bridge
- Taftsville Covered Bridge
- Upper Falls Covered Bridge
- West Hartford Bridge
- West Woodstock Bridge
- Willard Covered Bridge
- Woodstock Warren Through Truss Bridge