The 1889 Best Covered Bridge, also called Swallow's Bridge, is a historic covered bridge in Windsor County, Vermont, that carries Churchill Road over Mill Creek. Built in 1889, it is an architecturally distinctive laminated arch structure with a post-and-beam superstructure.

The Best Covered Bridge is a single-span laminated arch structure, with a total length of 37 feet and a roadway width of 12.5 feet (one lane), resting on stone abutments. The arch is formed out of five layers of planking that have been laminated and bolted together. The floor stringers are supported by iron suspension rods descending from the arches, which are complemented by wooden posts rising above the arches. A post-and-beam frame structure protects the arches, its exterior clad in vertical boarding, with a metal roof overhead.

The bridge was built in 1889 by Stephen F. Hammond (1836–1913), a local wheelwright from Brownsville. Some sources state that Amasa W. Swallow (1829–1894) built the bridge, an error that may have originated from a misreading of the 1889 town report. Documentary evidence suggests that the notation, "new covered bridge by Amasa W. Swallow," is actually a reference to the bridge's location.

The bridge's names come from Amasa W. Swallow, who owned the adjacent farm in the 1880s, and William Edgar Best (1869–1971), who in 1896, two years after Swallow's death, purchased the property.

The laminated arch construction is unusual for 19th-century bridges in Vermont but is well-suited for use on a short crossing on a lightly traveled road.

Length of largest span:  40 feet
Total length:  37 feet
Deck width:  12.1 feet
Vertical clearance above deck:  10 feet

Best Bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 2, 1973.

Located at:  N43 27.306   W72 30.979       -       WGCB #45-14-10

Photographed in June of 2022

Photos by Millard Farmer