details

Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

Home

Beards Falls or Stevens Village, Caledonia 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/45-03-50#2x / NH-05-92#2x
County: Caledonia County / Grafton County
Township: Barnet - Monroe
Town/Village: Beards Falls
Bridge Name: Beards Falls or Stevens Village
Crosses: Connecticut River
Truss type: Town & Arch
Spans: 2
Length: 208' 6" span, c220' overall
Roadway Width:
Built: 1877
Builder: Philip Henry Paddleford
When Lost: Mar 1938
Cause: Gale
Latitude: N44 17.21
Longitude: W072 03.44
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: South of the village of Barnet.

Beards Falls or Stevens Village Bridge, Barnet, VT - Monroe, NH. Built 1877 Replaced 1938
Richard E. Roy Collection
Beards Falls or Stevens Village Bridge, Barnet, VT - Monroe, NH. Built 1877 Replaced 1938
John W. Storrs Photo, June 23, 1921, NSPCB Archives

Beards Falls or Stevens Village Bridge, Barnet, VT - Monroe, NH. Built 1877 Replaced 1938
Todd Clark Collection

Beards Falls or Stevens Village Bridge, Barnet, VT - Monroe, NH. Built 1877 Replaced 1938
John W. Storrs Photo, October 31, 1922, NSPCB Archives

Comments:
The first bridge at this location was built around 1812. It was probably lost during the great flood of 1826. The next bridge was built in 1828 and lost during an ice & log jam on May 10, 1852. The third one was built before the winter of 1852 and lost during a gale on September 6, 1854. The fourth bridge was built in 1855 and 1856. It was lost during a gale on May 4, 1866. There was no bridge at this location until 1875 when Henry Paddleford built one for the Stevens Village Bridge Company. This structure was condemned and closed in 1923. The towns of Monroe and Barnet purchased, repaired and was reopened as a free bridge in the Spring of 1924. It was again condemned in 1937 and a gale finally sent it crashing into the river while it was being razed in March, 1938. It was replaced by a steel truss bridge in 1938. The steel truss is still standing in 2013.

Sources:
Johnson, Frances Ann. The History of Monroe New Hampshire 1761-1954, 1955, pages 147-151
National Society For the Preservation of Covered Bridges. Covered Bridge Topics, Volume X, No. 4, Winter 1952, page 2
Conwill, Joseph D.. Images of America - Vermont Covered Bridges, 2004, page 123