Travel New England - Paper Mill Village Covered Bridge

Located Northwest of Downtown Bennington, Vermont, the Paper Mill Village Covered Bridge is one of five covered bridges in Bennington County. The 125 foot long town lattice style bridge, built in 1889, crosses the Walloomsac River.

The bridge, which is also known as the Bennington Falls Covered Bridge, was built by Charles Sears. The covered bridge had some recent controversy when a Vermont historian lobbied to have the bridge removed from the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge was initially added to the register in 1973. A rehabilitation of the bridge occurred in 1999 and 2000. In 2016, Devin Colman of the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation argued that the bridge was replaced with a replica and that it no longer met the standards of being listed in the register. (1)

Not long after, it was determined that although many of the original materials of the bridge was replaced that the bridge still met more than enough criteria to keep the designation. Key points included the preservation of the original town lattice design, its proximity to two historic mills, and other nearby covered bridges. (2)

All photos taken by post author - June 9,2006.

Bridge Specs:

Number: 45-02-03 #2
Design: Town Lattice
Length: 125 Feet
Crosses: Walloomsac River
Built: 1889

How to Get There:

Sources:

(1) Therrien, Jim. "State official wants to dump Paper Mill Bridge off National Register." Bennington Banner. December 9, 2016.
(2) Therrien, Jim. "Paper Mill Village Bridge won't be removed from National Register of Historic Places." Berkshire Eagle. December, 14, 2016.

Comments

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process. The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents. Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes. When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood. The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71. The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway. Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog