Skip to main content

Maple Street Covered Bridge - Fairfax, Vermont

Image
By

 


Also known as the Fairfax Covered Bridge, the Maple Street Covered Bridge spans 57 feet across the Mill Brook along Maple Street in Fairfax, Vermont. The bridge was initially built in 1865 by Kingsbury and Stone, utilizing a Town Lattice truss design for the covered bridge. This covered bridge appears wider than many covered bridges in Vermont, owing to its 17 foot wide deck width and low clearance.

The Maple Street Covered Bridge was almost lost due to flooding in early November 1927, following a very wet October in northern New England. During the late morning and early afternoon on November 3, 1927, rainfall records were set for both hourly density and single storm totals. It was estimated that a cubic mile of water had been lifted off the Atlantic Ocean and deposited on Vermont as a result of a dissipating tropical storm. Four of the five covered bridges that were located in Fairfax, Vermont were destroyed, with the only bridge being saved was the covered bridge on Maple Street. That bridge was taken off its abutments and drifted downstream, where it rested against some trees. After the bridge was brought back to its abutments after the flood, it was thought by some people that the bridge was reinstalled with its original east end facing west, which makes it seem to lean. Perhaps the idea was to get the bridge operating again quickly, given that all of the other covered bridges in town had been destroyed.

The covered bridge was rehabilitated in 1990 and 2002 by Jan Lewandowski of Restoration and Traditional Building, who has worked on several covered bridges across Vermont. Repairs were made to the upper chord, truss web, king posts, roofers, and rafters in the 2002 restoration, which was deemed necessary after a truck driver caused damage to the bridge. With that restoration, the bridge's lean was also repaired. Today, you can find the Maple Street Covered Bridge in an idyllic setting that meshes well within the village center of Fairfax.





How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Bridgehunter.com - Fairfax Covered Bridge 45-06-02
Vermont Covered Bridge Society - The Maple Street Covered Bridge
VTGrandpa.com - Fairfax, Vermont and the Flood of November 1927
Labels:
Location: Fairfax Covered Bridge, Maple St, Fairfax, VT 05454, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

By
Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor.   Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old Dunlap Road (former California State Route 180 in Yokuts Valley)

By
When California State Route 180 was commissioned in August 1934 the alignment in took in Sierra Nevada range was very different than from today.  The original highway alignment from Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) to east Grant Grove (then part of General Grant National Park) originally followed what is now Ruth Hill Road, Dunlap Road, Pinehurst Road (modern California State Route 245), Dark Canyon Road (partially now Forest Road 14S45).  After funding fell through for the planned Kings Canyon Road the was corridor eventually picked up as a 30-mile-long cooperative project between the Division of Highways and Federal Government.  Much of current alignment of California State Route 180 bypassing Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) and Dunlap was complete by 1941.  The post-1941 alignment of California State Route 180 in Squaw Valley was shifted onto what was once Dunlap Road in Squaw Valley.  This alignment itself was later bypassed by modern California State Route...
Post a Comment
Read more

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Thurmond

By
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism.  Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns.  Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the late 1800s.  Sparked by the arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the local coal industry, Thurmond quickly grew into a sizeable transportation and coal center.  When it incorporated as a town in 1903, Thurmond was a full-fledged community - home to two banks, two hotels, and many other services and stores. A CSX freight train passes the old coaling tower in Thurmond.  It was here that many steam locomotives would refill and refuel. Thurmond was home to a C&O railyard which serviced the numerous steam engines passing through the narrow valley.  Thu...
Post a Comment
Read more