Skip to main content

Sunday River Covered Bridge - Newry, Maine

Image
By

 


Located alongside the Sunday River Road in Newry, Maine, the Sunday River Covered Bridge spans 87 feet over the Sunday River. Also known as the Artist's Bridge, the Sunday River Covered Bridge was built by Hiram York in 1872 and a Paddleford through truss design was used for its construction. Now only open for pedestrian access, the last vehicle to cross the bridge was in 1958 when a parallel modern span was built alongside the covered bridge. While the bridge no longer serves traffic, it is still a good place for recreation, artistry and curiosity.

The Sunday River Covered Bridge is not the first bridge to be located at this spot in Newry. The first Sunday River Bridge was built in 1811, but was subject to frequent washouts, including a major one in 1869. When that bridge was rebuilt the following year, a windstorm destroyed the bridge again eight months later. Finding it was necessary to replace the bridge, the town of Newry voted on the construction of a covered bridge and selected Hiram York as its builder. With attention to the bridge's stability, York built the covered bridge using the Paddleford Truss construction that had become common among covered bridges in northern New England. The bridge was restored at the same time it was bypassed by the new bridge just downstream. The truss work of the bridge remains largely original, while the floorboards have been replaced over time.

So you may be wondering why the Sunday River Covered Bridge is also known as the Artist's Bridge. The covered bridge maintains a reputation as being the most photographed and painted of the historic covered bridges found across Maine. It has also been suggested that the name of Artist's Bridge came about because the artist John Enneking was observed working by the bridge on many days, painting in plein air. Enneking was an early American impressionist painter and he maintained a home in Newry. Many of his works featured landscape scenes of northern New England.

Today, the Sunday River Covered Bridge provides a scenic spot to peacefully enjoy the mountains of western Maine. After all, the Sunday River makes its way downstream from the Mahoosuc Range on its way to the Androscoggin River. You may find someone fishing in the river during your visit, or you may opt to detour to the bridge after a day of skiing at the nearby Sunday River ski resort. In all, I rather enjoyed my visit to this bridge.

The Sunday River Covered Bridge makes for a good fishing spot.

A look inside the covered bridge.

Sunday River.


How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Maine Department of Transportation - Sunday River Bridge (Artist's Covered Bridge), Newry, Maine
Society of Architectural Historians - Sunday River Covered Bridge
Bridgehunter.com - Artist's Bridge 19-09-04
Atlas Obscura - Artist's Bridge
Scenic USA - Maine - Sunday River Bridge
Maine Magazine - Beloved by Artists
Labels:
Location: Sunday River Bridge, Sunday River, Newry, ME 04261, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 1915-era Teilman Bridge (the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge in California)

By
The Teilman Bridge is a semi-abandoned structure over Fresno Slough west of Burrell siding near the intersection of Elkhorn Avenue and Elkhorn Grade.  This structure is the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge constructed in California and was designed by Ingvart Teilman.  Teilman's Bridge would open in late 1915 when the Elkhorn Grade was the primary road between Fresno and Coalinga.  The structure would be replaced in 1991 but was left standing as it carries pipelines over Fresno Slough.  Part 1; the history of the Teilman Bridge In the early Twentieth Century the most direct highway between Fresno and Coalinga followed the Elkhorn Grade.  The Elkhorn Grade began at Fresno Slough a short distance west of Burrell siding.  From Fresno Slough the Elkhorn Grade followed a generally southwestern course through San Joaquin Valley into the Kettleman Hills towards Coalinga.   The Elkhorn Grade can be seen on the  1914 C.F. Weber map of Fresno Coun...
1 comment
Read more

The Dummy Lights of New York

By
  A relic of the early days of motoring, dummy lights were traffic lights  that  were  placed  in the middle of a street intersection. In those early days, traffic shuffled through busy intersections with the help of a police officer who stood on top of a pedestal. As technology improved and electric traffic signals became commonplace, they were also  originally  positioned on a platform at the center of the intersection. Those traffic signals became known as  " dummy lights "  and were common until  traffic lights were moved  onto wires and poles that crossed above the intersection.  In New York State, only a handful of these dummy lights exist. The dummy lights  are found  in the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson, plus there is an ongoing tug of war in Canajoharie in the Mohawk Valley, where their dummy light has been knocked down and replaced a few times. The dummy light in Canajoharie is currently...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prunedale Road (Monterey County)

By
Prunedale Road is a short 2.6-mile-long frontage corridor of US Route 101 in the namesake Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Prior to 1932 US Route 101 bypassed Prunedale in favor of the San Juan Grade to the east.  Prunedale Road along with nearby Moro Road served as an alternative connecting highway between Salinas and San Juan Bautista.  Following the realignment of US Route 101 onto the Prunedale Cutoff the former through route along Prunedale Road would be rendered as a western frontage.   Part 1; the history of Prunedale Road Prunedale Road is located in and is named after the Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Said community was founded near the junction of San Migeul Canyon, Langley Canyon and Echo Valley.  Watsonville settler Charles Langley (namesake of Langley Canyon) was one of the prominent early community settlers.  The Prunedale Post Office would open for the first time in 1894 but would close by 1908.  Early agricu...
Post a Comment
Read more