Gribblenation

  Mostly obscure from the famed cranberry bogs scattered around southeastern Massachusetts lays what is believed to be the first divided highway in the United States of America. Located just off of Massachusetts State Route 58 (MA 58) to the south of downtown Carver, Massachusetts is where you can find Savery Avenue. It is easy to miss, as this short drive with a parkway-like feel is easily hidden among the tall pine trees. But for those who are lucky enough to take the detour of less than a half mile, you will be treated with a piece of American history. Savery Avenue, or Savery's Avenue, has its roots in 1861, before the days of modern automobiles when the horse and buggy was the common way to travel between Point A and Point B. The narrow tree-lined road was presented to the public by  William Savery , who was a Carver native, and prominent businessman who owned both an iron foundry and a lumber mill, and also dabbled in public affairs and medicine. Savery built the...

  If covered bridges could tell stories of what has taken place over the years, it would be a very interesting conversation. But what the Upper Sheffield Covered Bridge may have to say is out of this world. Located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts between Great Barrington and the state border with Connecticut, the Upper Sheffield Covered Bridge utilizes a Town lattice truss design for its span of 93 feet across the Housatonic River. While the current-day covered bridge was built by  Arnold M. Graton Associates  and opened in 1999 after the original Upper Sheffield Covered Bridge was destroyed by an act of arson in 1994, the original covered bridge first opened in 1837. The covered bridge is not open to vehicular traffic, but you are welcome to park next to the bridge and walk across at your leisure. The first 132 years of the original Upper Sheffield Covered Bridge's existence were largely uneventful. However, on the night on September 1, 1969, an event took pla...

  The Choate Bridge was built in 1764 and is the oldest documented two span masonry arch bridge located in the United States. Named after Colonel John Choate, the builder who supervised the bridge's construction, the bridge is located on South Main Street (MA Routes 1A and 133) in downtown Ipswich, Massachusetts and spans over the Ipswich River. Originally, the bridge measured 80 feet, 6 inches in length and 20 feet, 6 inches in width. In 1838, the bridge was widened to 35 feet, 6 inches on the east side in order to accommodate another lane of traffic, while retaining its original length. Remaining unchanged in the bridge's 1838 expansion was the west side and the parapet of the bridge, along with a stone that has an inscription to Colonel John Choate. Since 1641, there has been a bridge at this location over the Ipswich River in what is now downtown Ipswich, with the previous bridges being constructed with timber. In 1638 the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony orde...

  The Arthur A. Smith Covered Bridge is located in the small Western Massachusetts town of Colrain and is named for a resident Civil War Army captain by the name of Arthur A. Smith. The area around the covered bridge at that time was known as the Arthur A. Smith Flats, which gave the bridge its namesake. Built in 1869 to span the North River, the 99 foot long covered bridge is the only Burr arch truss designed covered bridge currently found in Massachusetts. The bridge is covered by a gabled roof, and its exterior is clad in vertical board siding, mostly painted red, but with some white trim found along the bridge's portals. It is supported by multiple king post trusses augmented by laminated Burr arches. Colrain was once home to at least twelve covered bridges, and is home to one of a handful of remaining covered bridges that still has a home in Massachusetts. Most of the covered bridges were destroyed in the floods of 1936 and the flooding caused by the 1938 hurricane. ...

  One of a number of covered bridges spanning over the Nashua River on Groton Street in Pepperell, Massachusetts was the Chester Waterous Covered Bridge, or the old Pepperell Covered Bridge. Built in 1962, it was the second covered bridge built at this site, with bridges of various styles having been located at this site as early as 1742. This particular edition of covered bridge in Pepperell was named for Chester H. Waterous, who was a Massachusetts state representative during the 20th Century. The old Pepperell Covered Bridge was the closest covered bridge in Boston and one of a handful of covered bridges in Massachusetts that was east of the Connecticut River. The bridge was a 108 foot span was built using a variation of the Pratt through truss design and was designed to be a wider covered bridge than the bridge it was replacing. This spot on the Nashua River now spanned by the covered bridge has a lot of history to it. Even a brief history of the covered bridge in Pepperell mus...

Deerfield is one of the oldest Massachusetts settlements within the Connecticut River Valley. Settled in 1673, Deerfield was one of the furthest outposts of the early Colonial period. Deerfield and its surrounding areas were heavy in agriculture in the fertile fields of what is now known as the Pioneer Valley. Old Main Street - Deerfield Village Within modern day Deerfield is the Historic Old Deerfield Village.  A New England version of Colonial Williamsburg, Deerfield Village is a walk through to 18th Century New England.   Much of the old village sits along a one mile stretch of Old Main Street.  Here numerous historic homes and farmhouses from the 18th centuries can be found.   With a basic admission of $18 per adult, you are able to walk inside and tour the grounds and many of the homes within Historic Deerfield.  Some homes have guided tours while others are self guided.  At various places with in town, you can see woodworking or cooking de...

Just off the historic Mohawk Trail along Massachusetts Route 8A in Charlemont is the Bissell Covered Bridge.  A newer covered bridge that was rebuilt in 2007, the long truss bridge is the second covered bridge to cross Mill Brook.  The first covered bridge was built in 1880 and crossed Mill Brook until it was condemned in the 1940s.  Objecting to a modern bridge, the Town of Charlemont fought with the Commonwealth for a replacement covered bridge; and in 1951, a new covered bridge opened. The now open Bissell Covered Bridge in May 2012.  Part of the old temporary bridge landing has been turned into a viewing area. In 1995, due to deterioration, the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic and a temporary bridge was built next to it.  Yet again, the citizens of Charlemont fought with the Commonwealth on a replacement for the bridge.   The local residents won again; and in 2007, a full rehabilitation project started.  In 2009, the rehabilitated Bisse...

In October 2006, I took a roadtrip through Western Massachusetts .  On my way back home towards Albany, I had stopped at a covered bridge near Conway to take some photos and started up a conversation with an artist that was doing a painting of a church across the street.  I told him about my trip and what I had seen that day.  The gentleman then told me of a historic bridge over the Deerfield River that was nearby.  He told me that I needed to take a few backroads but it was worth the drive. He was correct.  At the bottom of a quiet country road was the Bardwell's Ferry Bridge.  A historic lenticular truss bridge that was built in 1882 and replaced a wooden bridge that once crossed here.  The 230 foot long pin connected bridge was a beautiful sight mixed in with all the colors of fall.   The largest span of the bridge is just under 193 feet and from there are magnificent views of the Deerfield River and of a Springfield Terminal rail bridge. ...

The picturesque Village of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts is a small slice of New England.  The village sits along both sides of the Deerfield River within the Towns of Shelburne and Buckland.  It is home to numerous shops, art galleries, cafes, breweries and more.   Shelburne Falls is a village of about 1700 residents which is nearly half of the combined population of Shelburne and Buckland.  The area was settled in the mid-1700s with both Shelburne and Buckland incorporated by 1779. Two of the major attractions in Shelburne Falls is the Bridge of Flowers and the Glacial Potholes. The Bridge of Flowers is a concrete arch bridge that originally served as a trolley bridge over the Deerfield River. Opened in 1909, the bridge carried freight and passengers for the Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway for nearly 20 years until the railway company went bankrupt.  It was in 1928, when members of the local Women's Club, petitioned and raised funds to co...