Arson Attempted on Bennington's Henry Bridge

[WGN 45-02-02]

 

BENNINGTON, VT, Friday, July 11, 2003 - According to Bennington Banner news, gasoline was dumped on the floor of the Henry Bridge Wednesday night and set on fire.

The Bennington Rural Fire Department made a midnight call to the bridge. The fire had burned itself out by the time firefighters arrived and damage was minimal. Firefighters hosed down the area of the bridge that was covered in gasoline.

Three people saw flames and called police. A fire truck was sent to check the town's other two covered bridges and no problems were found.

The town has been looking into using a fire retardant for application to the town's bridges at the suggestion of John Dostal of Bennington, a member of the Vermont Covered Bridge Society and the man behind the Covered Bridge Museum, which opened at the Bennington Center for the Arts in June.

The 120-foot Town Truss Henry Bridge spans the Walloomsac River serving Murphy Road in North Bennington. The original covered bridge, which served a local iron smelter, was built circa 1840. It was famed as the strongest bridge in the state due to its doubled truss, not replicated when the bridge was rebuilt in 1989.

The bridge is named for the Henry family long in residence adjacent to the bridge. The Henry home is now a B&B. There has been a wooden bridge at this site since early times.