Whether in daily use or simply there to be explored, Vermont covered bridges are a unique feature of the Vermont landscape, taking us back to a distant time and place. This guide will provide you with Vermont covered bridge locations, short descriptions and Vermont covered bridge photographs. There are more covered bridges per square mile in Vermont than any other place in the world, with 107 authentic covered bridges located throughout the state.
To pay for the construction of a covered bridge, many Vermont towns charged a bridge toll. In the 1800s it was not uncommon to be charged the following bill of fare to cross a covered bridge:
1800s VT Covered Bridge Bill of Fare
A man on foot
1 cent
A man on horseback
4 cents
A one- horse carriage
10 cents
A carriage drawn by more than one horse
20 cents
Cattle
1 cent - driver free
Sheep or swine
1/2 cent - driver free
Covered bridge builders used several different types of truss frames in their construction. Even today you will often see a sign at a covered bridge entrance asking horsemen to have their horses cross the bridge at a walk. The reason was not so much to avoid accidents as to keep the bridge from bouncing up and down causing even more damage than an overweight load might do.
Covered bridges were considered to be great boxing rings, which may be one of the reasons why Norwich University moved from Norwich, Vermont to Northfield, Vermont. Norwich students and Dartmouth students once held boxing matches at the Ledyard Covered Bridge.
The Dummerston Covered Bridge, Dummerston, Vermont
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