The West Dummerston Covered 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 ...
spanning the
West River West River may refer to:
Rivers
Canada
*West River (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia
* West River (Pictou, Nova Scotia) in Pictou County, Nova Scotia
* West River (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia
* West ...
in
Dummerston, Vermont
Dummerston is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,865 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is home to the longest covered bridge still in use in Vermont. Its borders include three main villages: Dum ...
, between
Vermont Route 30
Vermont Route 30 (VT 30) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. VT 30 runs from U.S. Route 5 in Vermont, U.S. Route 5 (US 5) and Vermont Route 9, VT 9 in Brattleboro, Vermont, Brattleboro to U.S. Route 7 ...
and Camp Arden Road. Built in 1872, it is at the longest covered bridge entirely within the state of
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. 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
The West Dummerston Covered Bridge is located in west-central Dummerston, a short way north of the village of West Dummerston. It spans the West River in a roughly east–west direction, and is mounted on stone abutments and a central stone pier. The bridge consists of two spans, each supported by
Town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
lattice trusses, and has a total structure length of . The sides of the bridge are finished in flush vertical boards, and the ends are sheathed in wooden clapboards. The roof is of corrugated metal, laid over an older wooden shingle roof. The side walls have diamond-shaped openings cut in them to admit additional light.
The bridge was built in 1872 by master builder Caleb Lamson, and is the only known surviving example of his work in
Windham County. It is the longest covered bridge entirely within the state: the
Scott Covered Bridge in
Townshend is long, and the
Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge
The Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge is a -year-old, two-Span (engineering), span, timber Ithiel Town, Town lattice-truss, , covered bridge that crosses the Connecticut River between Cornish, New Hampshire (on the east), and Windsor, Vermont (on t ...
(spanning the
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...
into
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
) is the nation's longest, at .
See also
*
List of Vermont covered bridges
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 conside ...
*
*
References
External links
*
{{NRHP in Windham County, Vermont
Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
Bridges completed in 1872
Wooden bridges in Vermont
Covered bridges in Windham County, Vermont
National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, Vermont
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
Lattice truss bridges in the United States
1872 establishments in Vermont
Buildings and structures in Dummerston, Vermont