The Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge is a -year-old, two- span, timber Town lattice-

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as Beam (structure), beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so ...

, ,

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 ...

that crosses 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 into Long Isl ...

between

Cornish, New Hampshire Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,616 at the 2020 census. Cornish has four covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair. History The town was granted in 1763 and containe ...

(on the east), and

Windsor, Vermont Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As the "Birthplace of Vermont", the town is where the Constitution of Vermont was adopted in 1777, thus marking the founding of the Vermont Republic, a sovereign state until 1791, when ...

(on the west). Until 2008, when the

Smolen–Gulf Bridge The Smolen–Gulf Bridge is a covered bridge which carries State Road (Ashtabula County Road 25) across the Ashtabula River at the Plymouth and Ashtabula Township line in northern Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. At , it is the longest ...

opened in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, it had been the longest covered bridge (still standing) in the United States.

History

Previous bridges

There were three bridges previously built on this site—one each in 1796, 1824 and 1828. The 1824 and 1828 spans were constructed and operated by a group of businessmen which included

Allen Wardner Allen Wardner (December 13, 1786 – August 29, 1877) was a Vermont banker, businessman and politician who served as State Treasurer. He was also the father-in-law of Attorney General, Secretary of State and United States Senator William M ...

(1786–1877).

1866 bridge (current)

The current bridge was built in 1866 by Bela Jenks Fletcher (1811–1877) of

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Town of Claremont, Perth * Claremont Airbase, an ...

and James Frederick Tasker (1826–1903) of Cornish at a cost of $9,000 (). The bridge is approximately long and wide. The structure uses a

lattice Lattice may refer to: Arts and design * Latticework, an ornamental criss-crossed framework, an arrangement of crossing laths or other thin strips of material * Lattice (music), an organized grid model of pitch ratios * Lattice (pastry), an or ...

patented in 1820 and 1835 by

Ithiel Town Ithiel Town (October 3, 1784 – June 13, 1844) was an American architect and civil engineer. One of the first generation of professional architects in the United States, Town made significant contributions to American architecture in the f ...

(1784–1844). From 1866 through 1943, it operated as a toll bridge. According to a 1966 report by the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, the bridge was plenty long enough to earn the name "kissin' bridge", a vernacular of covered bridges referring to the brief moment of relative privacy while crossing. Other tolls, in 1866, ran as high as 20 cents () for a four-horse carriage. The span was purchased by the state of New Hampshire in 1936 and became toll-free in 1943.

Landmark designation and restoration

* 1970: The

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

(ASCE) designated the bridge a

National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United Stat ...

. * 1976: The bridge was listed in 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 ...

. * 1988: The Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge was rehabilitated, funded by the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

Clarification of "longest bridge" status

While the

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 ...

had and Bridgeport Covered Bridge has longer clear spans, and the Smolen–Gulf Bridge is longer overall, with a longest single span of , the Cornish–Windsor Bridge is still the longest wooden covered bridge and has the longest single covered span to carry automobile traffic. (Blenheim was and Bridgeport is pedestrian only.) The

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 ...

Hartland, New Brunswick Hartland is a town in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada. On 1 January 2023, Hartland annexed all or part of seven Local service district (New Brunswick), local service districts, greatly expanding its area ...

, Canada, is longer than the Cornish-Windsor Bridge, and is currently open, but the claim that Cornish-Windsor was the longest was made when the Hartland was closed.

Access

From Vermont

Vermont Route 44 Vermont Route 44 (VT 44) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. The highway runs from Vermont Route 106, VT 106 in Reading, Vermont, Reading east to U.S. Route 5 in Vermont, U.S. Route 5 (US 5) and Vermont Route ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

heading southeast, ends at Main Street. (Main Street is also

US 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, ...

and VT 12.) Continuing past Main, the road becomes Bridge Street. Traveling on Bridge Street from Main, the Windsor bridge approach is about 2 tenths of a mile or . After crossing the bridge, Bridge Street ends at

New Hampshire Route 12A New Hampshire Route 12 is a long north–south state highway in southwestern New Hampshire. Its southern terminus is at the Massachusetts state line in Fitzwilliam, where it continues south as Massachusetts Route 12. Its northern terminus is ...

, which runs along the

on the west and Cornish Wildlife Management Area on the east. Although the public sometimes perceives the bridge as being solely in

, the bridge is mostly in Cornish, given that the

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

boundary runs along the western mean low-water mark of the Connecticut River. Put another way, when one enters the bridge from the Windsor side, one is immediately in New Hampshire. From New Hampshire
On

(Town House Road) in Cornish, coming from the south, Bridge Road is a

T intersection A three-way junction (or three-way intersection) is a type of road intersection with three arms. A Y junction (or Y intersection) generally has three arms of equal size coming at an acute or obtuse angle to each other; while a T junction (or T ...

on the left (west). Traveling from the north, from

West Lebanon, New Hampshire West Lebanon is an area within the city of Lebanon in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States, along the Connecticut River. The ZIP Code area for the community had a population of 4,444 at the 2020 census, out of 14,282 in the entire city. ...

, New Hampshire Route 12A is a notably scenic route along the Connecticut River. Historical marker Traveling from Cornish, just before the bridge intersection (about south of the bridge intersection), on the left, there is a parking area (about ) for viewing the bridge, which includes a

New Hampshire historical marker The U.S. state of New Hampshire has placed historical markers since 1958 at locations that are deemed significant to New Hampshire history. The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources (DHR) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) are joi ...

. The marker ( number 158) is one of four in Cornish.

Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge - HAER NH-8 - 00001a.jpg, (image 1 of 9)
1984
Cover page Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge - HAER NH-8 - 00002a.jpg, (image 2 of 9)
1984
South elevation
Deck plan Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge - HAER NH-8 - 00003a.jpg, (image 3 of 9)
1984
Longitudinal section
Reflected deck-framing plan
Reflected floor-framing plan Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge - HAER NH-8 - 00004a.jpg, (image 4 of 9)
1984
East elevation
Transverse section Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge - HAER NH-8 - 00005a.jpg, (image 5 of 9)
1984
Assembly detail File:Cornish-Windsor Bridge-Inside-2018.jpg, (image 6 of 9)
2018
Viewed from the Cornish side.
The lattices are the diagonal beams on the sides attached to the chords (horizontal beams running, lengthwise, parallel to the floor planks); from top to bottom – the primary upper chord, the secondary upper chord, the secondary lower chord, and the primary lower chord. File:Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge - HAER NH-8 - 104664pu.jpg, (image 7 of 9)
1984
Underside showing – from the bottom up – the lower lateral braces attached to the floor

joists A joist is a horizontal structural member used in framing to span an open space, often between beams that subsequently transfer loads to vertical members. When incorporated into a floor framing system, joists serve to provide stiffness to the su ...

that support the floor

planks A plank is timber that is flat, elongated, and rectangular with parallel faces that are higher and longer than wide. Used primarily in carpentry, planks are critical in the construction of ships, houses, bridges, and many other structures. Plank ...

. File:Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge - HAER NH-8 - 104665pu.jpg, (image 8 of 9)
1984
Looking up, inside, upper lateral braces, sway braces, roof

rafter A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members such as Beam (structure), steel beams that extend from the ridge or hip to the wall plate, downslope perimeter or eave, and that are designed to support the roof Roof shingle, shingles, ...

s, collar beams, purlins, and roof sheathing File:Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge.jpg, (image 9 of 9)
2014
(Beth Stiner photo)
Looking south and downstream, the four (of five) bridge piers seen in the background are those of the

New England Central Railroad The New England Central Railroad is a regional railroad in the New England region of the United States. It began operations in 1995, as the successor of the Central Vermont Railway (CV). The company was originally a subsidiary of holding comp ...

Connecticut River Bridge No 3, served locally by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's '' Vermonter'' stop at the Windsor Station. The

sightline The line of sight, also known as visual axis or sightline (also sight line), is an imaginary line between a viewer/observation, observer/wikt:spectator, spectator's eye(s) and a subject of interest, or their relative direction (geometry), relative ...

of the roadroad bridge is eclipsed by the Cornish-Windsor Bridge.

References

External links

Cornish–Windsor Bridge
New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge Bridges completed in 1866 1866 establishments in Vermont Wooden bridges in Vermont Covered bridges in Windsor County, Vermont Tourist attractions in Windsor County, Vermont Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Windsor County, Vermont Buildings and structures in Windsor, Vermont Windsor, Vermont 1866 establishments in New Hampshire Wooden bridges in New Hampshire Bridges in Sullivan County, New Hampshire Tourist attractions in Sullivan County, New Hampshire Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Sullivan County, New Hampshire Cornish, New Hampshire Historic American Engineering Record in New Hampshire Historic American Engineering Record in Vermont Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks Bridges over the Connecticut River Lattice truss bridges in the United States Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States