A complete guide to more than 200 covered bridges in the six New England states.

During the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries, the erection of nearly one thousand covered bridges was recorded in New England's archives. However, the ravages of time, storms, floods, neglect, and vandals have reduced the remaining historic, authentic covered bridges to fewer than two hundred. While the majority of these bridges are in the states of Vermont and New Hampshire, wonderful examples of covered bridges can be found in all six of the New England states.

Covered bridges are gaining attention as states and counties are making large investments in the repair and preservation of existing covered bridges, offering tours and building new ones. This work documents all extant covered bridges--vehicle, railroad and pedestrian--in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. The book is arranged by state, then by county and bridge name, using the most commonly known or locally used name. All other known names will be included for each bridge, cross-referenced in the index. Each state is prefaced with a brief synopsis of its bridges, past and present, including bridge types, truss types and geographic location. To be included, a bridge must have been originally built as, or intended to be, a true covered bridge, meaning that it is used as a means of traveling over an obstacle, usually water, not attached to buildings solely for access to the building or between buildings, and has a covered portion at least ten feet in length. Richly illustrated.

New Hampshire once had nearly four hundred covered bridges, most of which unfortunately are no longer in existence. Some of them were railroad bridges and, although often viewed as charming relics of the past, all of these bridges were actually vital links in New Hampshire's transportation system. Covered bridges were used to cross most of New Hampshire's large rivers, including the Connecticut, Merrimack, Mascoma, Contoocook, Pemigewasset, and Ashuelot. New Hampshire Covered Bridges is a photographic study of the state's enclosed wooden spans that date from as far back as 1827. The book contains rare photographs of historic bridges that no longer exist, as well as pictures of many that still stand today. The images are accompanied by detailed information about the design and construction of covered bridges and the men who built them. Each bridge has its own life story. Some have defied floods and hurricanes and still stand; others have fallen victim to nature or arson or the demands of modern transportation.

This guide looks at 106 of Vermont's covered bridges. Arranged by driving tours, it provides directions to each bridge, and shares each bridge's history and folklore, as well as providing information about nearby sites and museums.

Covered bridges are gaining attention as states and counties are making large investments in the repair and preservation of existing covered bridges, offering tours and building new ones. This work documents all extant covered bridges--vehicle, railroad and pedestrian--in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. The book is arranged by state, then by county and bridge name, using the most commonly known or locally used name. All other known names will be included for each bridge, cross-referenced in the index. Each state is prefaced with a brief synopsis of its bridges, past and present, including bridge types, truss types and geographic location. To be included, a bridge must have been originally built as, or intended to be, a true covered bridge, meaning that it is used as a means of traveling over an obstacle, usually water, not attached to buildings solely for access to the building or between buildings, and has a covered portion at least ten feet in length. Richly illustrated.

This book chronicles the development of metal truss and related bridges in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont from the 1860s to 1940: the various types and their inventors, historical changes in the highway and railroad networks that caused these bridges to be built, the rise of state bridge-building agencies, developments in the field of civil engineering, and preservation trends. While many notable metal bridges of the past are discussed in the context of these topics, the book's main focus is a detailed account of the remaining historic bridges.

"Travel Vermont's rural landscape and covered bridges through 290+ colored images... A complete listing of bridges, along with GPS coordinates, makes it easy to plan a day or weekend getaway"--from flyleaf.

As many as 15,000 covered bridges were built in North America over the past 200 years. Fewer than 1,000 remain. In America's Covered Bridges, authors Terry E. Miller and Ronald G. Knapp tell the fascinating story of these bridges, how they were built, the technological breakthroughs required to construct them and above all the dedication and skill of their builders. Each wooden bridge, whether still standing or long gone, has a story to tell about the nature of America at the time--not only about its transportational needs, but the availability of materials and the technological prowess of the people who built it. Illustrated with some 550 historical and contemporary photos, paintings, and technical drawings of nearly 400 different covered bridges, America's Covered Bridges offers five readable chapters on the history, design and fate of America's covered bridges, plus related bridges in Canada. Most of the contemporary photography is by master photographer A. Chester Ong of Hong Kong. 55 photo essays on the most iconic bridges including: Cornish-Windsor Bridge between Vermont and New Hampshire Porter-Parsonsfield Bridge, Maine East Paden and West Paden (Twin Bridges), Pennsylvania Philippi Bridge, West Virginia Hortons Mill Bridge, Alabama Medora Bridge, Indiana Rock Mill Bridge, Ohio Knight's Ferry Bridge, California Perrault Bridge, Quebec, Canada Hartland Bridge, New Brunswick, Canada Over time, wooden bridges eventually gave way to ones made of iron, steel and concrete. An American icon, many covered bridges became obsolete and were replaced—others simply decayed and collapsed. Many more were swept away by natural disasters and fires. America's Covered Bridges is absolutely packed with fascinating stories and information passionately told by two leading experts on this subject. The book will be of tremendous interest to anyone interested in American history, carpentry and technological change.