Tales from the road, close to home or across the globe.
By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
RAFU STAFF WRITER
Perhaps behind only maple syrup and one quirky ice cream brand, Vermont may be best known for its covered bridges. With more than 100 – the most per square mile of any U.S. state – these idyllic structures boast unique stories and local history.
Over the years, I’ve come across several of the bridges while visiting or driving through Vermont. During a trip to move our kid into school last month, I discovered a cluster of the storied spans quite nearby.
If your travels are taking you to Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, be sure to carve out an afternoon to jump across the Connecticut River, and you’ll find at least five covered bridges within 30 minutes or so by car.
In North Hartland is a unique set of “twins” that guide Mill Street across the Ottauquechee River. The Willard Covered Bridge is the older of the two, completed in 1871 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its younger sibling was built in 2001.
Just east of Woodstock and clad in traditional barn red is the Taftsville Covered Bridge, a rare example of early wooden truss bridges in the U.S. Built entirely of local timber and stone in 1836, it’s the fourth-oldest and second-longest (200 feet at the roofpeak) covered bridge in Vermont.
This bridge is characterized by four huge support arches, each con-structed of about a dozen layered and laminated planks.
In 2011, the bridge was severely damaged by flood waters from Hur-ricane Irene on the Ottauquechee River, forcing major repairs and renovations over the next two years.
A few miles east, just off U.S. Route 4 sits the Quechee Covered Bridge, where Waterman Hill Road meets Quechee Main Street. Unique features of this bridge include its location next to a scenic rock-dam waterfall and a pedestrian walkway on its western side.
Built to a length of 70 feet in 1970, the Quechee also fell victim to Irene and was reconstructed to 86 feet the following year.
Also nearby along Route 4 are the Lincoln and Middle Covered Bridges, both in Woodstock.
While we visited in the summer, I can only imagine the spectacular vistas of these historic bridges among New England’s fall colors or snowy winters.
