Skip to main content

Babb's Covered Bridge - Maine

Image
By


 
The Babb's Covered Bridge is one of a handful of covered bridges remaining throughout the State of Maine. The Babb's Bridge was built in 1976 to connect the towns of Windham and Gorham over the Presumpscot River and replaced a covered bridge located at the same crossing along Hurricane Road. Built using a Queenpost truss design, the covered bridge is 79 feet long and was reconstructed using historically authentic techniques to replicate the old bridge as much as possible. Plus it is one of a kind, being the only covered bridge in Maine built with a Queenpost truss.

The original Babb's Covered Bridge was likely built in 1843, replacing former bridges taken out by a hurricane in 1767 and its replacement that had washed out during a flood in 1843. Other sources point out that the covered bridge was built in 1864 instead. But it is known that Babb's Bridge was named for a local family who lived in nearby Gorham, Maine. 

Tragedy struck on May 7, 1973, when the original Babb’s Bridge was lost to an act of arson. An inexpensive metal bridge took its place to cross the river until 1976 when the current bridge was constructed as a replica of the original bridge. This was accomplished in large part due to the efforts of the Windham and Gorham historical societies along with a volunteer effort that helped raise both awareness and thousands of dollars towards the rebuilding project, with the new bridge having been dedicated with much fanfare on July 4, 1976. It was a great way to celebrate the bicentennial of the United States.

By 2014, the bridge had fallen into disrepair, laden with graffiti, sideboards removed, and holes cut into the roof so people could use the bridge to jump into the Presumpscot River below. In 2015, the Babb's Covered Bridge had to be closed temporarily due to damage that was caused by a snowplow. As a result of the damages to the bridge along with concerns of nearby residents, the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) called for a rehabilitation of the bridge at a cost of over $160,000, respecting the bridge's original design and function. While MaineDOT continues to maintain the bridge, a lack of manpower and funds makes them reluctant to respond to fixes that result from vandalism. A local group called Friends of Babb's Bridge was also created to provide increased security and awareness around the bridge

In a brazen, yet somehow fitting attempt to see the Babb's Covered Bridge in person, I visited on the same day that Tropical Storm Lee was aiming towards the nearby Gulf of Maine. It was quite windy, not quite at hurricane or even tropical storm force winds, but the covered bridge stood tall in the face of the gusty winds passing through southern Maine.




How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Labels:
Location: Babb's Covered Bridge, Hurricane Rd, Gorham, ME 04038, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Morgan Territory Road

By
Morgan Territory Road is an approximately 14.7-mile-long roadway mostly located in the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County, California.  The roadway is named after settler Jerimah Morgan who established a ranch in the Diablo Range in 1857.  Morgan Territory Road was one of several facilities constructed during the Gold Rush era to serve the ranch holdings.   The East Bay Regional Park District would acquire 930 acres of Morgan Territory in 1975 in an effort to establish a preserve east of Mount Diablo. The preserve has since been expanded to 5,324 acres. The preserve functionally stunts the development along roadway allowing it to remain surprisingly primitive in a major urban area. Part 1; the history of Morgan Territory Road During the period of early period of American Statehood much of the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County was sparsely developed.   Jerimah Morgan acquired 2,000 acres of land east of Mount Diablo in 1856 and established a ranch in 1857. Morgan Territory Road is
2 comments
Read more

The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge (Madera County)

By
The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge is an early era arch concrete structure found alongside modern Madera County Road 200.  The structure was modeled as a smaller scale of the 1905 Pollasky Bridge (still in ruins at the San Joaquin River) and was one of many early twentieth century improvements to what was then known as the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road.  The 1915-era bridge was replaced with a modernized concrete span during 1947 but was never demolished.  The original concrete structure can be still found sitting in the brush north of the 2023 Fine Gold Creek Bridge.     Part 1; the history of the 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge lies near the site of the former mining community of Fine Gold.   Mining claims were staked at Fine Gold during the Mariposa War during 1850. The community was never very large but became a stopping point on the stage road between the original Fresno County seat at Millerton and Fresno Flats (now Oakhurst). The stage road eventually bypas
Post a Comment
Read more

San Francisco's Broadway Tunnel

By
The Broadway Tunnel in San Francisco is a structure at Russian Hill which connects the neighborhood Chinatown to North Beach. The tunnel was included in the 1948 San Francisco Trafficways Plan as a connector between the Central Freeway and Embarcadero Freeway. The structure was completed in December 1952 and spans 1,616 feet through Russian Hill. The Broadway Tunnel was designated as the Robert C. Levy Tunnel in 1986. Part 1; the history of the Broadway Tunnel Following the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848 San Francisco would see a major population boom.  The city would expand from the shores of San Francisco Bay inland towards the many steep hills.  The hills of San Francisco would prove to be a major hinderance towards the expansion of city.  Roads were generally plotted over the tops of hillsides and had steep grades.  Russian Hill in particular was one of the steepest and contained numerous streets with grades in excess of twenty percent.  Broadway can be seen cros
Post a Comment
Read more