Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge

Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge

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Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge
Coordinates	43°28′26″N 72°23′02″W / 43.474°N 72.384°W / 43.474; -72.384Coordinates: 43°28′26″N 72°23′02″W / 43.474°N 72.384°W / 43.474; -72.384[1]
Crosses	Connecticut River
Locale	Cornish, New Hampshire to Windsor, Vermont
Maintained by	New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design	Town lattice truss bridge[2]
Material	wood
Total length	449 ft 5 in (137.0 m)
Width	24 ft (7.3 m)
Longest span	204 ft (62.2 m)
Load limit	10 US tons (9.1 metric tons)
Clearance below	12 ft 9 in (3.89 m)
History
Construction end	1866[2]
Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of New HampshireShow map of the USShow all
Nearest city	Windsor, VT
Built	1866
NRHP reference #	76000135 [3]
Added to NRHP	November 21, 1976

The Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge is a one hundred and fifty-two-year-old, two-span, timber King-truss, interstate, covered bridge that crosses the Connecticut River between Cornish, New Hampshire (on the east), and Windsor, Vermont (on the west). Until 2008, when the Smolen–Gulf Bridge opened in Ohio, it had been the longest covered bridge (still standing) in the United States.^[4][5]

Contents

• 1History
  • 1.1Previous bridges
  • 1.21886 bridge (current)
    • 1.2.1Landmark designation and restoration
  • 1.3Clarification of "longest bridge" status
  • 1.4Access
• 2See also
• 3References
• 4External links

History[edit]

Previous bridges[edit]

There were three bridges previously built on this site—one each in 1796, 1824 and 1828.^[6] The 1824 and 1828 spans were constructed and operated by a group of businessmen which included Allen Wardner (1786–1877).^[7]

1886 bridge (current)[edit]

The current bridge was built in 1866 by Bela Jenks Fletcher (1811–1877) of Claremont and James Frederick Tasker (1826–1903) of Cornish at a cost of $9,000 (equivalent to $150,423 in 2017). The bridge is approximately 449 feet (137 m) long and 24 feet (7 m) wide. The structure uses a lattice truss patented in 1820 and 1835 by Ithiel Town (1784–1844).^[8]

From 1866 through 1943, it operated as a toll bridge. According to a 1966 report by the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, the bridge was plenty long enough to earn the name "kissin' bridge", a vernacular of covered bridges referring to the brief moment of relative privacy while crossing.

“	[In 1866] It connected 'temperance' Windsor with 'wet' Cornish, so authorities asked 2 cents for foot travelers to enter New Hampshire but upped the fee to 3 cents for the return to dry Windsor.	”
— Boston Globe (1966)[9]

Other tolls, in 1866, ran as high as 20 cents (equivalent to $3 in 2017) for a four-horse carriage.

The span was purchased by the state of New Hampshire in 1936 and became toll-free in 1943.

Landmark designation and restoration[edit]

• 1970: The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) designated the bridge a National Civil Engineering Landmark.
• 1976: The bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
• 1988: The Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge was rehabilitated, funded by the Federal Highway Administration.

Clarification of "longest bridge" status[edit]

While the Old Blenheim Bridge had and Bridgeport Covered Bridge has longer clear spans, and the Smolen–Gulf Bridge is longer overall, with a longest single span of 204 feet (62 m), the Cornish–Windsor Bridge is still the longest wooden covered bridge and has the longest single covered span to carry automobile traffic. (Blenheim was and Bridgeport is pedestrian only.) The Hartland Bridge in Hartland, New Brunswick, Canada, is longer than the Cornish-Windsor Bridge, and is currently open, but the claim that Cornish-Windsor was the longest was made when the Hartland was closed.

Access[edit]

From Vermont
Vermont Route 44 in Windsor heading southeast, ends at Main Street. (Main Street is also US 5 and VT 12.) Continuing past Main, the road becomes Bridge Street. Traveling on Bridge Street from Main, the Windsor bridge approach is about 2 tenths of a mile or 350 yards (320 m). After crossing the bridge, Bridge Street ends at New Hampshire Route 12A, which runs along the Connecticut River on the west and Cornish Wildlife Management Area on the east. Although the public sometimes perceives the bridge as being solely in Windsor, the bridge is mostly in Cornish, given that the New Hampshire-Vermont boundary runs along the western mean low-water mark of the Connecticut River. Put another way, when one enters the bridge from the Windsor side, one is immediately in New Hampshire.^[10]

From New Hampshire
On New Hampshire Route 12A (Town House Road) in Cornish, coming from the south, Bridge Road is a T intersection on the left (west). Traveling from the north, from West Lebanon, New Hampshire, New Hampshire Route 12A is a notably scenic route along the Connecticut River.

Historical marker Traveling from Cornish, just before the bridge intersection (about 100 ft. south of the bridge intersection), on the left, there is a parking area (about 175 ft. x 27 ft.) for viewing the bridge with a historical marker. The marker (NH Historical Highway Marker No. 158) is one of four in Cornish.

Cornish-Windsor Bridge, looking north-north-westerly from the Cornish side (September 6, 2018)

See also[edit]

Other covered bridges in Cornish

• Blow-Me-Down Covered Bridge, built by James Tasker
• Blacksmith Shop Covered Bridge, now only foot traffic, built by James Tasker
• Dingleton Hill Covered Bridge, built by James Tasker

Covered bridges in West Windsor, Vermont

• Bowers Covered Bridge
• Best's Covered Bridge

Other bridges elsewhere

• List of crossings of the Connecticut River
• List of New Hampshire covered bridges
• List of covered bridges in Vermont
• Old Blenheim Bridge – previous claim of longest single covered span
• Bridgeport Covered Bridge – another claim of longest single covered span
• Hartland Bridge – The longest covered bridge in the world (located in Hartland, New Brunswick, Canada)
• List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
• List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont

---

• Structural design of the Cornish-Windsor Bridge
• 

  (image 1 of 9)
  1984
  Cover page

• 

  (image 1 of 9)
  1984
  Cover page

• 

  (image 2 of 9)
  1984
  South elevation
  Deck plan

• 

  (image 3 of 9)
  1984
  Longitudinal section
  Reflected deck-framing plan
  Reflected floor-framing plan

• 

  (image 4 of 9)
  1984
  East elevation
  Transverse section

• 

  (image 5 of 9)
  1984
  Assembly detail

• 

  (image 6 of 9)
  2018
  Viewed from the Cornish side.
  The lattices are the diagonal beams on the sides attached to the chords (horizontal beams running, lengthwise, parallel to the floor planks); from top to bottom – the primary upper chord, the secondary upper chord, the secondary lower chord, and the primary lower chord.

• 

  (image 7 of 9)
  1984
  Underside showing – from the bottom up – the lower lateral braces attached to the floor joists that support the floor planks.

• 

  (image 8 of 9)
  1984
  Looking up, inside, upper lateral braces, sway braces, roof rafters, collar beams, purlins, and roof sheathing

• 

  (image 9 of 9)
  2014
  (Beth Stiner photo)
  Looking south and downstream, the four (of five) bridge piers seen in the background are those of the New England Central Railroad Connecticut River Bridge No 3, served locally by Amtrak's Vermonter stop at the Windsor Station. The sightline of the roadroad bridge is eclipsed by the Cornish-Windsor Bridge.

References[edit]

1. Jump up ^ Geographic Names Information System, 1 June 2018, GNIS ID 1957624 , Wikidata Q136736
2. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b} Cornish–Windsor Bridge at Structurae
3. Jump up ^ National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
4. Jump up ^ Horton, John (2008-08-23). "Ashtabula County really has it covered; New roofed span snatches title of nation's longest". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
5. Jump up ^ "Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridg," American Society of Civil Engineers
6. Jump up ^ New Hampshire Department of Transportation, "Cornish–Windsor Bridge," by Richard G. Marshall, New Hampshire Department of Transportation (retrieved January 11, 2014)
7. Jump up ^ History of the Town of Cornish, New Hampshire, (Vol. 1 of 2), by William Henry Child (1832–1920, The Rumford Press (1911), p. 216
8. Jump up ^ New Hampshire's Covered Bridges, by Thedia Cox Kenyon, drawings by Stan Snow, Wake-Brook House (1957; revised 1966); OCLC 1029380110
9. Jump up ^ "Covered Bridges Sunpike – Two Built By Geniuses Unable to Read, Write," by Jean O'Brien Erickson (née Jean Marie O'Brien; born 1929), Boston Globe, October 21, 1962, sec. B, p. 24 (www.newspapers.com/image/433418759)
10. Jump up ^ Vermont v. New Hampshire 289 U.S. 593 (1933) says the river, and therefore the bridge, is all in New Hampshire.

External links[edit]

Media related to Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

• Cornish–Windsor Bridge, NH Division of Historical Resources

hide Crossings of the Connecticut River
Upstream I-89 bridge Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge Downstream New England Central Railroad Connecticut River Bridge No. 3

show v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Belknap Carroll Cheshire Coos Grafton Hillsborough Merrimack Rockingham Strafford Sullivan
Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks
Category:National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Portal:National Register of Historic Places

show v t e Connecticut River watershed
Tributaries	Ammonoosuc River Ashuelot River Black River Black Hall River Blow-me-down Brook Burnshirt River Chapel Brook Chicopee River Cold River Cranberry River Deerfield River East Brookfield River Eightmile River Fall River Farmington River Five Mile River Green River Halls Stream Hockanum River Hubbard River Indian Stream Israel River Johns River Little Sugar River Manhan River Mascoma River Mattabesset River Mill River (Northampton) Mill River (Springfield) Millers River Mink Brook Mirey Brook Mohawk River North Branch Millers River North Branch Westfield River North River Nulhegan River Oliverian Brook Ompompanoosuc River Ottauquechee River Otter River Park River Partridge Brook Passumpsic River Perry Stream Quaboag River Salmon River Saxtons River Scantic River Seven Mile River Simms Stream Sugar River Tarbell Brook Upper Ammonoosuc River Waits River Ware River Wells River West River Westfield River Whetstone Brook White River Williams River
Lakes	Ashuelot Pond Back Lake Ball Mountain Lake Barkhamsted Reservoir Lake Beseck Brooks Pond Canaan Street Lake Cedar Pond Christine Lake Comerford Reservoir Connecticut Lakes Crystal Lake Dublin Pond Eastman Pond Echo Lake Lake Francis (Murphy Dam) Goose Pond Grafton Pond Granite Lake Harriman Reservoir Harvey Lake Lake Hayward Lakes of the Clouds Little Sunapee Lake Mascoma Lake McIndoes Reservoir Lake Monomonac Moore Reservoir North Hartland Lake Pearly Lake Pocotopaug Lake Quabbin Reservoir Lake Rescue Silver Lake Spofford Lake Lake Sunapee Surry Mountain Lake Lake Tarleton Townshend Lake Lake Wyola
Major cities (>100k)	Hartford, Connecticut Springfield, Massachusetts
Smaller cities and towns (<100k)	Agawam Ascutney Barnet Bath Beecher Falls Bellows Falls Bloomfield Bradford Brattleboro Brunswick Canaan Charlestown Chester Chesterfield Chicopee Claremont Clarksville Colebrook Columbia Concord Cornish Cromwell Dalton Deep River Deerfield Dummerston East Haddam East Hampton East Hartford East Hereford East Windsor Easthampton Enfield Essex Fairlee Gill Gilman Glastonbury Greenfield Groveton Guildhall Haddam Hadley Hanover Hartford VT Hartland Hatfield Haverhill Higganum Hinsdale Holyoke Lancaster Lebanon Lemington Littleton Longmeadow Lunenburg Lyme CT Lyme NH Maidstone Middletown Millers Falls Monroe Montague Moodus Newbury Northampton Northfield Northumberland Norwich Old Lyme Old Saybrook Orford Piermont Pittsburg Plainfield Portland Putney Rockingham Rocky Hill Ryegate South Hadley South Windsor Springfield VT Stewartstown Stratford Suffield Sunderland Thetford Thompsonville Turners Falls Vernon Walpole Waterford Weathersfield Wells River West Lebanon West Springfield Westminster Westmoreland Wethersfield Whately White River Junction Wilder Windsor CT Windsor VT Windsor Locks Woodsville
Crossings	Amtrak Old Saybrook – Old Lyme Bridge Arch Bridge Bulkeley Bridge Calvin Coolidge Bridge Canalside Rail Trail Bridge Cheshire Bridge Columbia Bridge Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge Dexter Coffin Bridge French King Bridge Gill–Montague Bridge Janice Peaslee Bridge Ledyard Bridge Morey Memorial Bridge Mount Orne Covered Bridge Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge Piermont Bridge Pittsburg–Clarksville Covered Bridge Ranger Bridge Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge Sunderland Bridge Wells River Bridge

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Categories:

• Bridges completed in 1866
• 1866 establishments in Vermont
• Covered bridges in Vermont
• Wooden bridges in Vermont
• Covered bridges in Windsor County, Vermont
• Road bridges in Vermont
• Tourist attractions in Windsor County, Vermont
• Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
• Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
• National Register of Historic Places in Windsor County, Vermont
• Buildings and structures in Windsor, Vermont
• Windsor, Vermont
• 1866 establishments in New Hampshire
• Covered bridges in New Hampshire
• Wooden bridges in New Hampshire
• Bridges in Sullivan County, New Hampshire
• Road bridges in New Hampshire
• Tourist attractions in Sullivan County, New Hampshire
• Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
• Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
• National Register of Historic Places in Sullivan County, New Hampshire
• Cornish, New Hampshire
• Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks
• Bridges over the Connecticut River
• Lattice truss bridges in the United States
• Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States