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Taftsville, Windsor County

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

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Inventory Number: VT/45-14-12
County: Windsor County
Township: Woodstock
Town/Village: Taftsville
Bridge Name: Taftsville
Crosses: Ottauquechee River
Truss type: Multiple King Variant & Arch
Spans: 2
Length: 191'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1836
Builder: Solomon Emmons III
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N43 37.850
Longitude: W072 28.078
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.5 miles west of jct VT12 on US4, then 220 feet right on River Rd. At Taftsville.

Taftsville Bridge, Woodstock, Windsor County, VT Built 1836
Bill Caswell Photo, April 1, 2012

Taftsville Bridge, Woodstock, Windsor County, VT Built 1836
Bill Caswell Photo, May 11, 1985

Taftsville Bridge, Woodstock, Windsor County, VT Built 1836
Bill Caswell Photo, September 25, 2010

Taftsville Bridge, Woodstock, Windsor County, VT Built 1836
Richard E. Roy Collection

Taftsville Bridge, Woodstock, Windsor County, VT Built 1836
Bill Caswell Photo, January 26, 2009

Taftsville Bridge, Woodstock, Windsor County, VT Built 1836
Todd Clark Collection

Comments:
8-panel truss. The bridge was built by Solomon Emmons III and his son. His son, Edwin, repaired damage done by the flood of 1869. It's truss is a unique combination of queen and multiple kingpost elements with arches. The two spans are different lengths, one being 89' and the other 100'. The four laminated arches were added in the early 1900s. The bridge was raised during renovations in 1953. At that time the wooden knee braces were replaced with steel gusset plates. During repairs in 2013, Alpine Construction replaced the steel gusset plates with wooden knee braces. The western abutment was rebuilt and rotted timbers were replaced.

Sources:
Nelson, Joseph C.. Spanning Time - Vermont's Covered Bridges, 1997, pages 155-156
National Society For the Preservation of Covered Bridges. Covered Bridge Topics, Volume LXXXIII, No. 2, Spring 2015, pages 6-8
Conwill, Joseph D.. Images of America - Vermont Covered Bridges, 2004, page 69
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 153

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.