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

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more