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Walpole or Village, Windham County

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Inventory Number: VT/45-13-70x / NH-03-25x
County: Windham County / Cheshire County
Township: Westminster - Walpole
Town/Village: Westminster Station - Walpole
Bridge Name: Walpole or Village
Crosses: Connecticut River
Truss type: Town
Spans: 3
Length: 464'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1858
Builder:
When Lost: 1868/1869
Cause: Arson
Latitude: N43 05.06
Longitude: W072 25.99
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Topographic map of the area
Directions: NH123 at Westminster Station.

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Comments:
Per A History of Walpole, New Hampshire, and newspaper sources, the corporation [the Walpole and Westminster Bridge corporation], after consecutive losses of 1868 and 1869 worked to convince the towns of Walpole and Westminster to purchase the bridge rights and to rebuild the crossing as a free bridge. This effort was successful and according to many accounts the early part of 1870 was used to establish agreements between the towns and establish a payment method. Vermont paid one third and New Hampshire two-thirds of the cost. Regarding building a replacement bridge at the Walpole crossing, "The bridge was built, a frame truss structure, and opened for travel in the fall of 1870 with a grand celebration." This was a free bridge. From other sources we know that the bridge builders were James E. Bagley (1826-1874) and J.J.R. Randall (1828-1891) who owned a bridge building company in Springfield, MA. The foreman of the project was Nelson Preston Powers (1823-1902). The bridge cost $12,687.99. Per the Herald and News (Randolph), April 7, 1910, "The long covered wooden bridge spanning the Connecticut river between Westminster Vt., and Walpole, N.H., was burned Friday evening [1-Apr-1910]. The bridge was the longest structure of this kind in New England, one of the historic landmarks. A colored man was seen going into the bridge just before the fire. Nobody saw him come out and it is feared that he perished. The bridge was owned by the two towns and will be replaced by a new iron structure. The bridge was valued at $15,000." Per The Brattleboro Reformer, April 29, 1910, the arsonist was later identified as Arthur Norrington of Westminster, aged about 40, who was thought to have been the man seen leaving the bridge just before it was noticed to be on fire. It is unclear what the reason for the bridge having the western span of a lesser overall height and the two eastern spans of taller height. It is possible that a portion of the bridge from the 1869 timeframe survived.

Sources:
Bellows Falls Times, October 22, 1869, p.3.
Vermont Journal (Windsor), March 21, 1868, p.3.
Frizell, Martha McDonalds. A History of Walpole New Hampshire, volume 1, page 522-524

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