Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge | |
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 Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge, viewed from the south | |
| Coordinates | 43°28′26″N72°23′02″W / 43.474°N 72.384°W /43.474; -72.384 |
| Crosses | Connecticut River |
| Locale | Cornish, New Hampshire toWindsor, Vermont |
| Maintained by | New Hampshire Department of Transportation |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Townlattice truss bridge[1] |
| Material | Wood |
| Total length | 449 feet 5 inches (136.98 m) |
| Width | 24 feet (7.3 m) |
| Longest span | 204 feet (62 m) |
| Load limit | 10 short tons (9.1 t) |
| Clearance below | 12 feet 9 inches (3.89 m) |
| History | |
| Construction end | 1866[1] |
Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Windsor, VT |
| Built | 1866 |
| NRHP reference No. | 76000135[2] |
| Added to NRHP | November 21, 1976 |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge | |
TheCornish–Windsor Covered Bridge is a 159-year-old, two-span, timberTown lattice-truss,interstate,covered bridge that crosses theConnecticut River betweenCornish, New Hampshire (on the east), andWindsor, Vermont (on the west). Until 2008, when theSmolen–Gulf Bridge opened inOhio, it had been the longest covered bridge (still standing) in the United States. Enrique that title went in 2010 the bridge in Ohio caught on fire and collapsed.[3][4]
There were three bridges previously built on this site—one each in 1796, 1824 and 1828.[5] The 1824 and 1828 spans were constructed and operated by a group of businessmen which includedAllen Wardner (1786–1877).[6]
The current bridge was built in 1866 by Bela Jenks Fletcher (1811–1877) ofClaremont and James Frederick Tasker (1826–1903) ofCornish at a cost of $9,000 (equivalent to $193,275 in 2024). The bridge is approximately 449 feet (137 m) long and 24 feet (7 m) wide. The structure uses alatticetruss patented in 1820 and 1835 byIthiel Town (1784–1844).[7]
From 1866 through 1943, it operated as a toll bridge. According to a 1966 report by theNew Hampshire Division of Economic Development, the bridge was plenty long enough to earn the name "kissin' bridge", a vernacular of covered bridges referring to the brief moment of relative privacy while crossing.
[In 1866] It connected 'temperance' Windsor with 'wet' Cornish, so authorities asked 2 cents for foot travelers to enter New Hampshire but upped the fee to 3 cents for the return todry Windsor.
— Boston Globe (1966)[8]
Other tolls, in 1866, ran as high as 20 cents (equivalent to $4 in 2024) for a four-horse carriage.
The span was purchased by the state of New Hampshire in 1936 and became toll-free in 1943.
While theOld Blenheim Bridge had andBridgeport Covered Bridge has longer clear spans, and the Smolen–Gulf Bridge is longer overall, with a longest single span of 204 feet (62 m), the Cornish–Windsor Bridge is still the longest wooden covered bridge and has the longest single covered span to carry automobile traffic. (Blenheim was and Bridgeport is pedestrian only.) TheHartland Bridge inHartland, New Brunswick, Canada, is longer than the Cornish-Windsor Bridge, and is currently open, but the claim that Cornish-Windsor was the longest was made when the Hartland was closed.
From Vermont
Vermont Route 44 inWindsor heading southeast, ends at Main Street. (Main Street is alsoUS 5 andVT 12.) Continuing past Main, the road becomes Bridge Street. Traveling on Bridge Street from Main, the Windsor bridge approach is about 2 tenths of a mile or 350 yards (320 m). After crossing the bridge, Bridge Street ends atNew Hampshire Route 12A, which runs along theConnecticut River on the west andCornish Wildlife Management Area on the east. Although the public sometimes perceives the bridge as being solely inWindsor, the bridge is mostly inCornish, given that theNew Hampshire-Vermont boundary runs along the western mean low-water mark of the Connecticut River. Put another way, when one enters the bridge from the Windsor side, one is immediately in New Hampshire.[9]
From New Hampshire
OnNew Hampshire Route 12A (Town House Road) in Cornish, coming from the south, Bridge Road is aT intersection on the left (west). Traveling from the north, fromWest Lebanon, New Hampshire, New Hampshire Route 12A is a notably scenic route along the Connecticut River.
Historical markerTraveling from Cornish, just before the bridge intersection (about 100 feet (30 m) south of the bridge intersection), on the left, there is a parking area (about 175 by 27 feet (53 by 8 m)) for viewing the bridge, which includes aNew Hampshire historical marker. The marker (number 158) is one of four in Cornish.[10]
Other covered bridges inCornish
Covered bridges inWest Windsor, Vermont
Other bridges elsewhere
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Media related toCornish-Windsor Covered Bridge at Wikimedia Commons
Crossings of theConnecticut River | ||||
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