Best's Covered Bridge
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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 the ...
, that carries Churchill Road over Mill Creek, just south of
Vermont Route 44 Vermont Route 44 (VT 44) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. The highway runs from VT 106 in Reading east to U.S. Route 5 (US 5) and VT 12 in Windsor. VT 44 passes through West Windsor in southern ...
. 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 United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
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 substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
. 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 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 or shaper of wood) as in shipwright and arkw ...
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 Windso ...
*
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-and ...
*
Lincoln Covered Bridge The Lincoln Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge, just south of U.S. 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 ...
* Martin's Mill Covered Bridge (Hartland, Vermont) *
Taftsville Covered Bridge The Taftsville Covered Bridge is a timber-framed covered bridge which spans the Ottauquechee River in the Taftsville village of Woodstock, Vermont, in the United States. Built in 1836 and exhibiting no influence from patented bridge designs, it is ...
* Willard Covered Bridge Other covered bridges in nearby Cornish *
Blow-Me-Down Covered Bridge The Blow-Me-Down Covered Bridge is a historic wooden covered bridge carrying Lang Road over Blow-me-down Brook in the town of Cornish, New Hampshire, Cornish, near its northern border with Plainfield, New Hampshire. Built in 1877, the King post, ki ...
, built by James Tasker * Blacksmith Shop Covered Bridge, now only foot traffic, built by James Tasker *
Dingleton Hill Covered Bridge The Dingleton Hill Covered Bridge, also known as the Cornish Mills Bridge, is a historic wooden covered bridge, carrying Root Hill Road over Mill Brook in Cornish Mills, New Hampshire. Built in 1882, it is one of the state's few surviving 19th-ce ...
, 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 __NOTOC__ This is a list of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in the U.S. state of Vermont. Bridges References External links {{HAER list, structure=bridge *List *List Vermont Vermont () is a state in ...
*
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 high ...
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List of New Hampshire covered bridges This is a list of New Hampshire covered bridges, old, new, and restored. There are 58 historic wooden covered bridges currently standing and assigned official numbers by the U.S. state of New Hampshire. There are additional covered bridges extant ...
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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 the highest number of covered bridges per square mile in the United States. A covered bridge is consid ...
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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 Br ...
– previous claim of longest single covered span *
Bridgeport Covered Bridge The Bridgeport Covered Bridge is located in Bridgeport, Nevada County, California, southwest of French Corral, California, French Corral and north of Lake Wildwood, California, Lake Wildwood. It is used as a pedestrian crossing over the South Yu ...
– another claim of longest single covered span *
Hartland Bridge The Hartland Covered Bridge in Hartland, New Brunswick, is the world's longest covered bridge, at long. It crosses the Saint John River from Hartland to Somerville, New Brunswick, Canada. The framework consists of seven small Howe Truss bri ...
– 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 This is a list of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Current listings Former listing See also *List of covered bridges in New Hampshire Notes References {{National Register of Histo ...
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List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont This is a list of bridges and tunnels on the National Register of Historic Places in the U.S. state of Vermont. See also * List of covered bridges in Vermont * List of non-authentic covered bridges in Vermont References {{DEFAULTSORT:List ...
National Register listings of area bridges *
National Register of Historic Places listings in Sullivan County, New Hampshire This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Sullivan County, New Hampshire. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Sullivan County, New Ha ...
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National Register of Historic Places listings in Windsor County, Vermont __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Windsor County, Vermont. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Windsor County, Verm ...


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