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Rutland
County, Vermont
(WGN 45-11-07)
(WGCB VT-11-07): (1849; renovated 2003-04) A single-span
Town lattice truss 50' 5" over Furnace Brook. Located: South
of Pittsford, Vermont on Elm Street. Directions: 1.1 miles
from jct. SR 3 on US 7 then left at the 2nd turn on Elm Street 1.2 miles
to the bridge. The bridge was built by Nicholas Powers, who was,
by some, believed to be Vermont's most famous bridge builder. Of historical
note, his bridge at Blenheim, New York, is the longest single-span in the
world. It is sometimes described as a misplaced Conestoga Wagon,
which it does resemble. When originally photographed on September
8, 2003, Elm Street was closed at the bridge and the bridge was jacked
up being renovated. The renovations included repair and/or replacement
of a few lattice members, replacing part of the upper and lower chords,
floor beams, some roof boards, siding and knee braces, installing a new
floor, new roof shingles, adding tire guards and guardrails, and placing
new signs on the gables. The renovations were completed in 2004 and
when photographed on May 17, 2005, the bridge was once again in service.
Barn red vertical hemlock boarding covers the sides,
portals and weather panels. The floor has lengthwise planking,
a glue-laminated timber tire guard extends down each side and its gray
slate roof and gables project beyond the entrances to provide additional
weather protection for the interior. The bridge was named for a family,
descended from Gideon Cooley, a veteran of the French and Indian Wars,
that owned land around it. It was listed on the National Register
of Historic Places on January 24, 1974. (Sep 2003; May 2005) |
