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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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North Williston, Chittenden County

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Inventory Number: VT/45-04-30x
County: Chittenden County
Township: Williston
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: North Williston
Crosses: Winooski River
Truss type: Burr?
Spans: 2
Length:
Roadway Width:
Built: 1860
Builder:
When Lost: 07 Apr 1923
Cause: Flood / Ice Jam
Latitude: N44 28.26
Longitude: W073 02.63
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: North to Essex Junction.

North Williston Bridge, Williston, Chittenden County, VT Built 1860 Flood / Ice Jam 7 Apr 1923
Todd Clark Collection

Comments:
15-panel truss. Double barrel bridge. Per The Enterprise and Vermonter (Vergennes), October 21, 1898, "The covered bridge at North Williston is being repaired." Per the Vermont Standard (Woodstock), April 19, 1923, "The two-way covered highway bridge built in 1860 in Williston fell into the river about noon after huge cakes of ice had battered its middle pier. After traveling a mile and a half down the river, it finally lodged in two parts on the rocks and in the water a quarter of a mile below the Central Vermont railway bridge." The 125-foot bridge passed without incident as two pieces under the railway bridge. (Note that the bridge was considerably longer than 125 feet [the current crossing is ~280 feet] and the flood had apparently occurred a while before the article.) This bridge was washed downstream during an ice jam and landed in a farmer’s field. After a period of time, the town tried to get the bridge back, but since it had been on the farmers land for a while, he claimed it as his own and converted it to a barn.

Sources:
Vermont Standard (Woodstock), April 19, 1923.
The Enterprise and Vermonter (Vergennes), October 21, 1898.
Allen, Richard & Lucille; Images of America - Essex and Essex Junction; 2004; page 24
NSPCB Archives, Richard Sanders Allen Collection, Paper Files, Vermont Lists & Maps, Folder 1

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