Gorham Covered Bridge

Summary

The Gorham Covered Bridge carries Gorham Bridge Road across Otter Creek in a rural area of Pittsford and Proctor, Vermont. It is a Town lattice truss bridge, built in 1841 by Abraham Owen and Nicholas M. Powers, the latter in the early stages of his career as a well-known bridgewright. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[1]

Gorham Covered Bridge
Gorham Covered Bridge is located in Vermont
Gorham Covered Bridge
Gorham Covered Bridge is located in the United States
Gorham Covered Bridge
LocationGorham Bridge Road, Pittsford and Proctor, Vermont
Coordinates43°40′48″N 73°2′17″W / 43.68000°N 73.03806°W / 43.68000; -73.03806
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1841 (1841)
Built byAbraham Owen, Nicholas M. Powers
Architectural styleTown lattice truss
NRHP reference No.74000255[1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 12, 1974

Description and history edit

The Gorham Covered Bridge joins northern Proctor and southern Pittsford, both rural communities in central-northern Rutland County, Vermont. It carries Gorham Bridge Road across Otter Creek, a minor side road which forms the town boundary at that point. The bridge is oriented east–west across the north-flowing creek. It is a single span Town lattice truss, 114 feet (35 m) in length, resting on stone abutments that have been faced in concrete. The bridge has been strengthened by the addition of laminated beams below the road deck, which is 18 feet (5.5 m) wide. The bridge's exterior is sheathed in vertical board siding, which ends short of the roof line, and is topped by a gabled roof now covered in corrugated metal. The siding extends around the sides to the portal faces, and a short way inside the portals.[2]

The bridge was built in 1841, and is one of Vermont's oldest surviving covered bridges. It was built by Abraham Owen and Nicholas M. Powers, the latter then an apprentice to Owen. Powers, A Vermont native, was one of the best-known 19th-century bridgewrights, credited with a large number of covered bridges. At the time of this bridge's listing on the National Register in 1974, it was one of three surviving Vermont bridges known to have been built by Powers.[2]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System – (#74000255)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "NRHP nomination for Gorham Covered Bridge". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-03-31.