Best's Covered Bridge ''(aka'' Swallow's Bridge) is a historic
covered bridge
A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, 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 woo ...
in
West Windsor, Vermont
West Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,344 at the 2020 census.
It was known for its Ascutney Mountain Resort, which closed in 2010 and was bought by its citizens in 2015.
Geography
According to t ...
, that carries Churchill Road over Mill Brook, 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
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1973.
Description and history
Best's Covered Bridge is located about 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 and a roadway width of (one lane). It rests on stone
abutments
An abutment is the Bridge#Structure types, substructure at the ends of a bridge Span (architecture), span or dam supporting its Bridge#Structure types, superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end that provide vertical and l ...
. 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.
The bridge was built in 1889 by Stephen F. Hammond (1836–1913), a local
wheelwright
A wheelwright is a Artisan, craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright" (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker - as also in shipbuilding, shipwright ...
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.
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.
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.
See also
Other covered bridges in
Windsor County, Vermont
Windsor County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,753. The shire town (county seat) is the town of Woodstock. The county's largest municipality is the town of Hartford.
History
Winds ...
*
Bowers Covered Bridge
The Bowers Covered Bridge ''(aka'' Brownsville Bridge) is a historic covered bridge, carrying Bible Hill Road across Mill Brook in the Brownsville section of West Windsor, Vermont. Built in 1919, it has a laminated-arch deck covered by a post- ...
*
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
This is a list of bridges and other crossings of the Connecticut River from its mouth at Long Island Sound upstream to its source at the Connecticut Lakes. The list includes current road and rail crossings, as well as ferries carrying a state hig ...
*
List of New Hampshire covered bridges
*
List of covered bridges in Vermont
Below is a list of covered bridges in Vermont. There are just over 100 authentic covered bridges in the U.S. state of Vermont, giving the state both the highest number of covered bridges per square mile and per capita in the United States, as we ...
*
Old Blenheim Bridge
Old Blenheim Bridge was a wooden covered bridge that spanned Schoharie Creek in North Blenheim, New York, United States. With an open span of , it had the second longest span of any surviving single-span covered bridge in the world. The 1862 ...
– previous claim of longest single covered span
*
Bridgeport Covered Bridge – another claim of longest single covered span
*
Hartland Bridge
The Hartland Covered Bridge () or Hartland Bridge is the world's longest covered bridge at in length. Located in New Brunswick, Canada, the bridge crosses the Saint John River (New Brunswick), Saint John River, joining the Carleton County, New ...
– The longest covered bridge in the world (located in Hartland, New Brunswick, Canada)
*
*
National Register listings of area bridges
*
*
References
External links
*
{{NRHP in Windsor County, Vermont
Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
Historic American Engineering Record in Vermont
National Register of Historic Places in Windsor County, Vermont
Buildings and structures in West Windsor, Vermont
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
Covered bridges in Windsor County, Vermont
Wooden bridges in Vermont
1899 establishments in Vermont
Bridges completed in 1899