Arthur A. Smith Covered Bridge, Colrain Massachusetts
The Arthur A. Smith Covered Bridge is one of four extant covered bridges in the State, it is unique in employing Burr truss construction. It was moved from its original location in 1896.
The town of Colrain was initially settled in 1732 by members of the Smith family, possibly ancestors of Arthur A. Smith, and incorporated in 1761. The predominantly hilly terrain in the town proved suitable for grazing and dairy farming; the North River, which flows almost directly south through Colrain from the Vermont border to Shelburne, Massachusetts, provided abundant waterpower for sawmills, gristmills, fulling mills and, in the 19th century, large textile mills. One such cotton manufacturing firm was established in 1832 at Shattuckville, the site of the first cotton yarn mill in Franklin County (1814). Following a major flood in 1869, which destroyed or damaged this and many other industries and bridges on the river, restorative work included reconstruction of the Shattuck Mills at double the previous capacity and erection of a new "Fox Bridge."
In 1878, the waters of the North River again rose seriously high, leaving the bridge unsafe for travel and it sat, deteriorating, until moved to its present site in 1896.
In the village of Lyonsville, as in Shattuckville, it provided access across the North River; here it was used extensively for transporting kegs of vinegar from the cider mill to the railroad, provided a crossing to the First Baptist Church and homes in the vicinity, and formed part of the road to the town of Heath.
The bridge's use as a transport route was partially responsible for the introduction of additional support members, resulting in this once-common wood engineering design. The composite of king post truss and strengthening arch, first introduced in America in 1803-04 by Theodore Burr of Pennsylvania, was used throughout the 19th century. This bridge is the only surviving example in Massachusetts. Of the three other 19th-century-covered bridges remaining in the Commonwealth, only one, the Upper Sheffield Bridge (1835), predates the Colrain Bridge. The others are the Burkville Bridge, Conway (1873); and the Ware-Hardwick Bridge (1886).
Arthur Alan Smith, for whom the bridge was renamed in 1896, was of Colrain heritage and born there on December 19th, 1841, in the family farmstead adjacent to the North River. After serving in the Civil War, where he attained the rank of captain, he moved to Alabama and became active in community affairs. Returning to Colrain and the family house in the 1870s, he was elected to several offices, including: school board member; tax assessor; and Commander of the G.A.R. in Massachusetts. He died in Colrain on March 21st, 1907.
Bridge Description
The Arthur A. Smith Covered Bridge spans the North River at Lyonsville, about five miles north of Shelburne Falls. It is approached on a short stretch of secondary road leading west off Route 112. The setting is rural and picturesque with rocks and ledges bordering the river and a steep, wooded hill crowned by the First Baptist Church rising from the west bank. Fields of corn and grass line the east bank adjacent to the bridge.
The bridge measures 100 feet in length, with an outside width of 17 feet, and an inside width of 12 feet. Its wooden structural design features the original multiple king post truss construction with added laminated Burr arches. The gable pitched roof is covered with slate shingles; exterior sheathing is vertical boards.
Originally, the bridge was constructed in 1869-70 farther down the river in Shattuckville, a Colrain village south of Lyonsville and Colrain Center. It was known as the Fox Bridge, in reference to the nearby Fox Tavern (now gone). Damaged by flood waters in 1878, the bridge was abandoned until 1896, when the Colrain selectmen had it re-erected on the "Arthur A. Smith Flats." It may have replaced an earlier plank bridge at this location. In 1920, laminated Burr arches were added to strengthen the bridge so that the Carey Cider and Vinegar Company could transport heavier loads across it. At present, it is uncertain whether Burr arches were present prior to this date.
End view (1982)
