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Gageville or Grangers, Windham County

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Inventory Number: VT/45-13-14x
County: Windham County
Township: Westminster
Town/Village: North Westminster
Bridge Name: Gageville or Grangers
Crosses: Saxtons River
Truss type: Town & Arch
Spans: 1
Length: 118'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1835
Builder: Sanford Granger
When Lost: 13 Aug 1967
Cause: Arson
Latitude: N43 07.00
Longitude: W072 27.36
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: On VT121 in North Westminster.

Gageville or Grangers Bridge, Westminster, Windham County, VT Built 1835 Lost 13 Aug 1967
Richard E. Roy Collection

Gageville or Grangers Bridge, Westminster, Windham County, VT Built 1835 Lost 13 Aug 1967
Todd Clark Collection

Gageville or Grangers Bridge, Westminster, Windham County, VT Built 1835 Lost 13 Aug 1967
Henry A. Gibson Photo, February 19, 1949, NSPCB Archives

Comments:
Per the Springfield Reporter, July 25, 1941, "Gage's Covered Bridge Is 106 Year Old. Gage’s covered bridge across the Saxtons river at Gageville is 106 years old, being the oldest bridge in Windham county. It is the only bridge ever to span the river at this point. About 1890 two big laminated wooden arches were added. It is still in good condition and served the community well at the time of the flood, as much of the traffic was routed over it. The builder of this bridge was Sanford Granger. He owned and operated a sawmill on the site where Gage’s Basket Factory now stands. It was by this name that the bridge was first known. It is probable that the timbers used were from his mill. He was widely known as a bridge builder. He also built the Tucker Toll Bridge in Bellows Falls. Mr. Granger was the instigator of the bridge (evidently he had an eye for business). Records show that he and others in that locality petitioned the county court for a bridge at that point and a road. In consequence a town meeting was held July 18, 1835 “to see if the town will agree to build the road laid out by a committee appointed by the county court on the petition of Sanford Granger and others the present season”. The town voted to instruct the town agent to investigate the matter and report to the selectmen if he found no chance for the town "to get rid of making the road surveyed”. Building of the road could not be avoided, the town instructed the selectmen to levy a tax of 10 cents on the grand list. One condition was that Granger would agree to pay $200 toward the road and build the bridge aside from the abutments, "on the plan of the one which the said Granger built across Saxtons river at Saxtons River village and of equally good material as the Brookline bridge so-called” for $6 per running foot. From this it appears that the bridge itself cost $702."

Sources:
Clough, Philip & Betsy. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 1959, page 79
Springfield Reporter, July 25, 1941.
Minard, M. Elizabeth. History of Westminster; 1941; Town of Westminster, page 123
Collins, Anne L, Virginia Lisai, and Louise Luring; Around Bellows Falls, Arcadia Publishing, 2002, page 81
Allen, Richard S. & Morse Victor. Windham County's Famous Covered Bridges, 1960, pages 37-38
National Society For the Preservation of Covered Bridges. Covered Bridge Topics, Volume XXXIX, No. 3, Summer 1981, page 14.
Conwill, Joseph D.. Images of America - Vermont Covered Bridges, 2004, page 55