Howe - 1879
The 1879 Howe Covered Bridge, also called First Branch White River Bridge, is a historic covered bridge carrying Belknap Brook Road across the White River in Tunbridge, Orange County, Vermont, just east of Vermont Route 110. Built in 1879, it is one of five surviving bridges in the town, one of the highest concentrations of covered bridges in the state.
The Howe Covered Bridge is located in southern Tunbridge, just east of Vermont 110 on Belknap Brook Road. It is a single-span multiple Kingpost truss structure resting on dry-laid stone abutments. The abutments are extended upriver by concrete wing walls. The trusses are formed of timbers bolted together, with vertical iron rods providing additional stability. The exterior is finished in vertical board siding and is topped by a gabled metal roof. The portal ends are also finished in vertical board siding, which extends partway along the inside to shelter the truss ends.
The bridge builder is unknown. It is one of five surviving bridges in Tunbridge, which, along with another in nearby Chelsea, form a remarkable concentration of 19th-century covered bridges in the state.
The privately owned Howe Bridge serves as a gateway to the Howe family farm. The portals are decorated with flowers set in antique cattle feeding buckets.
According to the Covered Spans of Yesteryear website, repairs were made in 1994-95 to the deck. The site also notes that the roof and "the unusual knee braces" were replaced in 2002.
Length of largest span: 71.9 ft.
Total length: 74.2 ft.
Deck width: 12.8 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 9 ft.
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on September 10, 1974.
Located at: N43 51.893 W72 29.937 - WGCB #45-09-07
Photographed in June of 2022