details

Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

Home

Arthur Smith or Willis Place, Franklin County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: MA/21-06-03x
County: Franklin County
Township: Colrain
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Arthur Smith or Willis Place
Crosses: North River
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 1
Length: 98'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1870 (M1896)
Builder:
When Lost: 2006
Cause: Razed
Latitude: N42 40.196
Longitude: W072 43.093
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 1.2 miles southwest of Colrain town green on MA112, then 0.1 miles right on Lyonville Rd.

Arthur Smith or Willis Place Bridge, Colrain, Franklin County, MA Built 1870 Dismantled 2006
Richard E. Roy Collection

Arthur Smith or Willis Place Bridge, Colrain, Franklin County, MA Built 1870 Dismantled 2006
William Maxant Photo, October 28, 1991, Harvard (MA) Historical Society

Arthur Smith or Willis Place Bridge, Colrain, Franklin County, MA Built 1870 Dismantled 2006
William Maxant Photo, January 1972, Harvard (MA) Historical Society

Arthur Smith or Willis Place Bridge, Colrain, Franklin County, MA Built 1870 Dismantled 2006
William Maxant Photo 1939, Harvard (MA) Historical Society

Comments:
This bridge was originally built over the North River between Shattuckville and Griswoldville where it was known as the Fox-Temple Bridge (MA/21-06-13). It was named after Arthur Alan Smith, a Civil War army captain and local resident who lived near the bridge at the time it was constructed. Laminated arches were added around 1920 reportedly so that a cider mill could transport heavier loads over the bridge. It was extensively repaired in 1955-1956 and closed to traffic in 1981. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 3, 1983. It was removed from its abutments in September 1991 and placed between two corn fields at the end of Lyonsville Road. In 2006, a new bridge using some of the old material was rebuilt across the river.

Sources:
Evans, Benjamin D. & June R.. New England's Covered Bridges, 2004, pages 64-65
Burk, John. Covered Bridges of Massachusetts, 2010, Pages 51-53

The images in this collection may be protected under copyright law and may only be used for educational, teaching, and research purposes.
If the intended use is beyond these purposes, it is the responsibility of the user to obtain the appropriate permissions from the owner stated in the image's credits.