Taftsville Covered Bridge
Woodstock, VT
WGN Number: 45-14-12
Photo by Jennifer Bushey Parker © 2019
The Taftsville Bridge uses a very complicated truss design by a sophisticated framer. Spanning a crag below the power house dam, it may attract more painters than any other covered bridge in Vermont. The bridge is made up of two spans of 89 feet and 100 feet.
According to the Covered Spans of Yesteryear website, Edwin Emmons, son of the bridge builder Solomon Emmons, "repaired damage done by the flood of 1869. The four laminated arches were added in the early 1900's. The bridge was raised during renovations in 1953. At that time the wooden knee braces were replaced with steel gusset plates."
Ed Barna states that this is the third oldest bridge in the state and offers a detailed history of the repairs of the bridge over the years: "A bad lean was corrected in the 1920's. Metal reinforcement for the roof bracing was added during 1952-53 repair work, with Miller Construction of Windsor using the frozen river as a platform to jack up the closed bridge for truss, foundation, and floor repairs. The red paint arrived inn 1959-60, along with a tin roof." (Barna, E. (1996) Covered Bridges of Vermont. Woodstock, Vermont: The Countryman Press pg.148)
Tropical Storm Irene inflicted enough damage to close the bridge for two years from 2011 to 2013. Alpine Construction of Schuylerville, New York worked on the center pier, abutments, decking, trusses, installed new bearing plates, a roof, and siding during the course of the project. Click here for pictures and full descriptions of the work The Taftsville Covered Bridge Project - WGN 45-14-12.
The renewed Taftsville bridge opened on September 7, 2013, just a little over two years after being closed by Tropical Storm Irene. Click here for pictorial of the completed bridge: Taftsville Bridge Renewed - September 7, 2013.
Our thanks to the Town of Woodstock for allowing the posting of the Vermont Covered Bridge Society Welcome patch. For more information about the Woodstock area visit their website at https://townofwoodstock.org/.
Taftsville Covered Bridge Vital Statistics
| Town: | Woodstock |
| Location: | Covered Bridge Road |
| Crossing: | Ottauquechee River |
| Date: | 1836 |
| Builder: | Solomon Emmons III |
| Truss Type: | Unique: Kingpost, queenpost, arch |
| Truss Length: | 189 feet |
| National Register of Historical Places Listing Date: | August 28, 1973 |
| Historic American Engineering Record | HAER No. VT 30 |
Credits: All pictures, information and descriptions are taken from Spanning Time Vermont's Covered Bridges by Joseph C. Nelson ©1997 and the World Guide to Covered Bridges - 2009 unless otherwise specified.
