The Colburn Bridge is a historic bridge in Pittsford, Vermont. It is a masonry

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

, carrying U.S. Route 7 (US 7) across Sugar Hollow Brook a short way east of the town center. Built in 1899, it is one of a modest number of surviving masonry arch bridges in the state, and exhibits particularly high quality period workmanship. 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 1990.

Description and history

The Colburn Bridge is located about east of the town center of Pittsford, on US 7, the major north–south route in western Vermont. It is located near the former home of Charles Colburn, a blacksmith who moved to the area in 1832. Although US 7 is mainly a north–south route, at this point it runs east–west, crossing a gorge cut by the south-flowing Sugar Hollow Brook. The bridge is a single-span masonry structure, long and wide. The arch is semicircular, with a radius of . The

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 ...

are formed out of rough-cut limestone blocks, while the

voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...

s of the arch face are slightly better dressed. The spandrels are faced randomly coursed rough-cut limestone. The bridge originally had limestone railings capped by dressed stone, but these have been removed. In their place are modern metal guardrails, partly set on concrete slabs that cantilever out slightly from the masonry structure. A bridge has been documented to exist on or near this site since the early 18th century. The present bridge was built in 1899, and was a gift of Anne Wagner Boardman, wife of Pittsford native Charles Nye Boardman. At the time of its listing on the

in 1990, it was one of seventeen documented masonry arch bridges in the state. Many older bridges were washed away in the state's devastating 1927 floods, and the state has not generally funded construction of stone arch bridges since 1915.

References

{{NRHP in Rutland County, Vermont Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont Bridges completed in 1899 Buildings and structures in Pittsford, Vermont Bridges in Rutland County, Vermont U.S. Route 7 Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System National Register of Historic Places in Rutland County, Vermont Stone arch bridges in the United States

Description and history

See also

References