change and the replacement of materials; and the role of covered bridges in the “industrialization” of once heavily wooded areas. Constructed by Sadler Rogers in the 1850s, the wooden bridge on the left led directly into the settlement, while the taller railroad bridge brought timber-laden railcars to the odoriferous and polluting tannery, an industry that began in 1870 and lasted in Hillsgrove until 1924. As engines became larger, rail traffic increased, the industry flourished, and the wooden covered railway bridge was replaced by a “modern” iron truss bridge. Because tannin extracted from the bark of the bountiful hemlock trees in the area was used to produce leather from hides, a boom in population benefited this area. By 1890, 805 people inhabited Hillsgrove, but with the man-made development of acetone to replace tannin there was the following decline: 1900, 686; 1920, 273, and by 1930, 50 persons left. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, with a year-round population of about 70, the hamlet and surrounding area entice countless visitors to enjoy its reforested hillslopes, clean water, and fresh air. Branded as Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains, locals take great pride in the three surviving covered bridges at Forksville, Hillsgrove, and Sonestown even as others are only recalled in memory and faded photographs. (Sullivan County Historical Society’s Museum)
Spine The Schofield Ford or Twining Ford Bridge, which was originally completed in early 1874 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania (page 205), was burned by arsonists in 1991 and completely rebuilt in 1997 by local volunteers. Today, it offers passage across the picturesque Neshaminy Creek in Tyler State Park. A stone pier supports the bridge, which likely was constructed as a single span utilizing the Town lattice truss. (A. Chester Ong, 2010)
Page 1 Blacksmith Shop Bridge, New Hampshire (page 171). (A. Chester Ong, 2010)
Page 2 Knight’s Ferry Bridge, California (page 248). (A. Chester Ong, 2012)
Page 5 Twining Ford Bridge, Pennsylvania (page 205). (A. Chester Ong, 2010)
Pages 6–7 Ashuelot or Upper Village Bridge, New Hampshire (page 166). (A. Chester Ong, 2010)
Front endpaper The longest historical covered bridge in the United States, the Cornish-Windsor Bridge (page 172), crosses the Connecticut River between New Hampshire and Vermont. On a heavily traveled route with a ten-ton load limit, the bridge carries two-way traffic day and night. In addition to ongoing maintenance to its Town lattice truss, extensive repairs have been carried out periodically since it was constructed in 1866. (A. Chester Ong, 2010)
Back endpaper Thomas Wilson’s painting of Eagle Mills in Rennsselaer County, New York, depicting the village around 1845, places a two-lane covered bridge at its center, flanked by large mill- or factory-type structures along with a wooden mill building next to the dam. Today, a cider mill sits next to the dam and an undersized covered two-lane pedestrian bridge crosses Poesten Kill nearby. The main part of the village is seen in the distance. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum)
Twining Ford Bridge, Pennsylvania (page 205). (A. Chester Ong, 2010)
contents
Ashuelot or Upper Village Bridge, New Hampshire (page 166). (A. Chester Ong, 2010)
Introduction
New Perspectives on North America’s Covered Bridges
CHAPTER ONE
The Birth of the North American Covered Bridge
CHAPTER TWO
The Evolution of Covered Bridge Design
CHAPTER THREE
From Planning to Reality: Erecting Covered Bridges
CHAPTER FOUR
Covered Bridges in the Face Of Progress
CHAPTER FIVE
Finding A Place for Covered Bridges in the Twenty-first Century
CHAPTER SIX
Iconic Covered Bridges of the United States and Canada
Ashuelot or Upper Village Bridge, New Hampshire
Porter-Parsonsfield Bridge, Maine
Bridge-at-the-Green or West Arlington Bridge, Vermont
West Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut
Blacksmith Shop Bridge, New Hampshire
Cornish-Windsor Bridge, New Hampshire
Pier Railroad or Chandler Station Bridge, New Hampshire
Scott Bridge, Vermont
Stark Bridge, New Hampshire
Taftsville Bridge, Vermont
Bath Bridge, New Hampshire
Northfield Falls’ Five Covered Bridges, Vermont
Packsaddle or Doc Miller Bridge, Pennsylvania
Halls Mills Bridge, New York
Jackson’s Mill or Barnhart’s Bridge, Pennsylvania
McConnell’s Mill Bridge, Pennsylvania
Bogert’s Bridge, Pennsylvania
Dreibelbis Station Bridge, Pennsylvania
East Paden and West Paden Bridges (Twin Bridges), Pennsylvania
Philippi Bridge, West Virginia
White Bridge, Lippincott Bridge, Danley Bridge, and Hughes Bridge, Pennsylvania
Blenheim Bridge, New York
