Quinlan's Covered Bridge

Quinlan's Covered Bridge, also called the Lower Covered Bridge,[2] and Sherman Covered Bridge[3] is a wooden covered bridge that crosses Lewis Creek in Charlotte, Vermont on Monkton Road. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[1] It is one of nine 19th-century Burr arch covered bridges in the state.

Quinlan's Covered Bridge
Bridge in U.S. state of Vermont
Coordinates44°16′34″N 73°11′02″W / 44.276°N 73.184°W / 44.276; -73.184
CarriesAutomobile
CrossesLewis Creek
LocaleCharlotte, Vermont
Maintained byTown of Charlotte
ID numberVT-04-03
Characteristics
DesignCovered, Burr Arch
MaterialWood
Total length88.1 ft (26.85 m)
Width13.9 ft (4.24 m)
No. of spans1
Load limit5 tons
Clearance above10.5 ft (3.20 m)
History
Constructed byunknown
Construction end1849
Quinlan's Covered Bridge is located in Vermont
Quinlan's Covered Bridge
Quinlan's Covered Bridge is located in the United States
Quinlan's Covered Bridge
Coordinates44°16′35″N 73°11′4″W / 44.27639°N 73.18444°W / 44.27639; -73.18444
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
NRHP reference No.74000208[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 10, 1974

Description and history

edit

Quinlan's Covered Bridge is located in a rural area of southeastern Charlotte, at a point where Monkton Road arrives from the south to meet Lewis Creek Road and Spear Street on opposite sides of Lewis Creek. The bridge is a single-span Burr arch truss, 86 feet (26 m) long and 16.5 feet (5.0 m), with a roadway width of 13.5 feet (4.1 m). Each truss has, in addition to diagonal braces and vertical posts, a pair of timber arches bolted to it. It has a gabled roof, and its exterior is clad in vertical board siding, which extends around to the inside of the portals. It rests on stone abutments faced in concrete.[4]

The builder is unknown, but most likely the same builder as the Sequin Covered Bridge upstream. The name "Lower Bridge" was because it is downstream of the Sequin (or "Upper") bridge. This is common in Vermont where multiple bridges crossed the same body of water in the same town. The name "Quinlan" is attributed the family of the same name that held land in the area. The name "Sherman" comes from the owner of a sawmill that was located adjacent to the bridge site.[3]

In 1949 or 1950 steel beams were installed under the deck to strengthen it.[3] The bridge underwent reconstruction in 2013.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Quinlans Covered Bridge
  3. ^ a b c Evans, Benjamin and June. New England's Covered Bridges. University Press of New England, 2004. ISBN 1-58465-320-5
  4. ^ Hugh Henry (1974). "NRHP nomination for Quinlan's Covered Bridge". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-11-21. with photos from 1974