Bennington Falls Covered Bridge, Bennington Vermont
The Bennington Falls Covered Bridge, the longest covered bridge in Bennington County, was constructed by Charles F. Sears in 1889. Sears belonged to a locally prominent family of bridge builders; his father, Benjamin, probably built another of the three surviving covered bridges in Bennington township. Together the three bridges, which cross the same river within two miles of one another, constitute an important resource of transport and engineering history in an area which possesses outstanding examples of other types of historic resources.
The covered bridges of Vermont are among its most cherished and symbolic historic resources. About one hundred bridges still stand in the state, the greatest concentration by area of covered bridges in the country. Many of these bridges are integral parts of unique architectural environments whose physical setting and cultural context have been little altered until recently.
Bridge Description
The Bennington Falls Covered Bridge consists of a single span supported by two flanking timber Town lattice trusses. Many of the planks in the trusses have been doubled for reinforcement, and additional floor beams have been placed in the structure. The ends of the bridge rest on abutments built of stone slabs which have been partially faced with concrete. The bridge is 125 feet long and 18.5 feet wide, with a 15-foot roadway.
On the exterior, the large planks pegged together diagonally to form the trusses (and side walls) of the bridge are sheathed with novelty siding hung horizontally. Flush vertical boards protect the ends of the trusses immediately inside the portals. The gables are sheathed with flush boards hung horizontally. The exterior siding is painted dark red; the siding inside the portals is painted white to increase visibility.
Beginning eight feet from each end of the bridge, the horizontal siding reaches only six feet above the floor, leaving the upper sides of the trusses exposed. The overhang of the roof protects the open trusswork. The roof is covered with wood shingles.
Looking west (1973)
