Paper Mill Covered Bridge - Original
Bennington, VT
WGN Number: 45-02-03x
Photo by Joe Nelson © 1997
Swimmers have long enjoyed plunging off the roof of the Paper Mill Bridge into the mill pond below. In the middle of the 1990's the roadway was blocked off to pedestrians pending reconstruction.
The Covered Spans of Yesteryear website provides a brief history of this bridge: "The original 1889 bridge was demolished in December 1999 and rebuilt in April-May 2000 at a cost of $300,000.00. The bridge was named for a 1790's paper mill that was one of the state's first. Rolled paper is still being processed in the building near the northwest corner of the bridge. The original 1889 bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 28, 1973."
Ed Barna provides some additional information: "the bridge was repaired extensively in 1952. A 1994 state study found those repairs to the bottom load bearing timbers inappropriate, and since then a leaking roof has left the bridge "critically deteriorated" and "on the verge of collapse"." (Barna, E. (1996) Covered Bridges of Vermont. Woodstock, Vermont: The Countryman Press.)
Paper Mill Covered Bridge - Original Vital Statistics
| Town: | Bennington |
| Location: | Murphy Road |
| Crossing: | Walloomsac River |
| Date: | 1889 |
| Builder: | Charles F. Sears |
| Truss Type: | Town lattice |
| Truss Length: | 131 feet |
| Other Names: | Bennington Falls |
| National Register of Historical Places Listing Date: | August 28, 1973 |
Credits: All pictures, information and descriptions are taken from Spanning Time Vermont's Covered Bridges by Joseph C. Nelson ©1997 and the World Guide to Covered Bridges - 2009 unless otherwise specified.
