Henry - 1840
The ca. 1840 Burt Henry Covered Bridge, also known as Henry Covered Bridge, or just Henry Bridge, is a covered bridge that spans the Walloomsac River near Bennington, Vermont. A Town lattice truss bridge, it carries River Road, south of the village of North Bennington. Originally built about 1840, it is Bennington County's oldest covered bridge and was rebuilt in 1989 by the Vermont Agency of Transportation.
The Henry Covered Bridge is located in northwestern Bennington, southwest of the village of North Bennington and the campus of Bennington College. The historic Henry House stands just south of the bridge. The bridge is a single-span Town lattice truss structure, with a total length of 121 feet, and a width of 18.5 feet, and a roadway width of 15 feet, sufficient for one modern travel lane. The sides are finished in novelty siding, while the ends are finished with horizontal flush boarding, with vertical boarding sheltering the trusses just inside the portal. The siding on the sides does not always extend to the gabled roof, providing light into the structure.
The bridge's original construction date was estimated to be sometime in 1830-1840. At one time, an attempt to strengthen the bridge was made by doubling the trusses, so that heavily laden trucks could pass over the bridge making the Henry Bridge the strongest covered bridge in Vermont; this was deemed ineffective, and the change was eventually reversed. The bridge was completely rebuilt in 1989.
The materials used in the reconstruction of the bridge in 1989 were southern pine with ash treenails, not the usual spruce and oak.
Of the over 500 covered bridges that were built in the state of Vermont, as of 2019, only 104 remain.
Length of largest span: 110.9 ft.
Total length: 121.1 ft.
Deck width: 14.4 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 10.6 ft.
Henry Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Located at: N42 54.749 W73 15.277 - WGCB #45-02-02 #2
Photographed in July of 2019.