details

Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

Home

, Windsor 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: VT/45-14-23x
County: Windsor County
Township: Bethel
Town/Village: East Bethel
Bridge Name:
Crosses: Second Branch White River
Truss type:
Spans:
Length:
Roadway Width:
Built:
Builder:
When Lost: 1936
Cause: Flood
Latitude: N43 52.51
Longitude: W072 35.30
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions:

Bethel, Windsor County, VT Lost 1936
Richard E. Roy Collection

Comments:
Per R. S. Allen's Rare Old Covered Bridges of Windsor County Vermont, "Over on the Second Branch, the little village of East Bethel could once be entered by any of three covered bridges. These survived the '27 disaster, but high water in 1936 floated off the southernmost, and the others were replaced shortly thereafter." Per the Vermont Watchman and State Journal (Montpelier), September 8, 1886, "East Bethel. The new covered bridge above the village is completed." Per The Bethel Courier, February 18, 1926, "13, To see if the town will vote to rebuild the bridge over Locust Creek, near the house of R. J. Stillwell, and if so to appropriate funds for the same. 14, To see if the town will vote to rebuild the Narrows Bridge on Locust Creek, above the Stillwell bridge, and if so, to appropriate sums for the same. The 13th article in regard to the rebuilding of Stillwell bridge will probably be one of the main features to be considered. It is stated that it is absolutely necessary to rebuild this bridge, as it crossed the creek at a sharp angle with the road, making it difficult for automobilists to negotiate. It is on the main state road between Bethel and Woodstock, and is scarcely wider than the room taken by an automobile. It originally stood at the upper end of East Bethel village, and in pre-automobile times, when the new steel bridge was put in at East Bethel, it was thought a good idea to move the old East Bethel bridge to Locust Creek, which was done, only the bridge was made narrower." Based on this information the upper covered bridge in East Bethel was replaced significantly prior to 1926.

Sources:
The Bethel Courier, February 18, 1926.
Allen, R. S., Rare Old Covered Bridges of Windsor County Vermont, The Book Cellar, Brattleboro, Vermont, 1962.
Vermont Watchman and State Journal (Montpelier), September 8, 1886.
Allen, Richard Sanders. Rare Old Covered Bridges of Windsor County, VT, 1962, page 7

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.