West Hill Covered Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids West Hill Covered Bridge |
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Bridge in U.S. state of Vermont
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| Carries | Automobile |
| Crosses | West Hill Brook |
| Locale | Montgomery, Vermont |
| Maintained by | Town of Montgomery |
| ID number | VT-06-09 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Covered, Town lattice |
| Material | Wood |
| Total length | 58 ft 9 in (17.91 m) |
| Width | 16 ft 6 in (5.03 m) |
| Number of spans | 1 |
| Load limit | 8 tons |
| Clearance above | 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
| History | |
| Constructed by | Sheldon and Savannah Jewett |
| Construction end | 1883 |
 Location in Vermont
Location in the United States
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000221 |
| Added to NRHP | December 31, 1974 |
The West Hill Covered Bridge is a cool wooden bridge in Montgomery, Vermont. It's also known as the Crystal Springs Covered Bridge. This bridge crosses a stream called West Hill Brook. It's special because it's one of six old bridges built in the 1800s by two brothers, Sheldon & Savannah Jewett. In 1974, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's an important historical site.
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About the West Hill Bridge
The West Hill Covered Bridge is in a quiet, countryside area. It's about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Montgomery's main village. The bridge carries Creamery Bridge Road over West Hill Brook.
How the Bridge Looks
This bridge is 59 feet (18 m) long. That's about the length of two school buses! It's also 19.5 feet (5.9 m) wide, but the part cars drive on is 16 feet (4.9 m) wide. This means only one car can cross at a time.
The bridge has a special design called a Town lattice truss. This design uses lots of crisscrossing wooden beams. It's covered by a roof, which helps protect the wood from weather. The outside walls are made of vertical wooden boards. These boards also cover the inside of the openings where cars enter. There's a small gap between the top of the walls and the roof. The road surface inside the bridge is made of wooden planks.
History of the Bridge
The Jewett brothers, Sheldon & Savannah Jewett, built this bridge. They were famous for building many bridges in the area. They even had a farm and a lumber mill nearby. This is where they got the wood for their bridges.
When Was It Built?
We don't know the exact year the West Hill Bridge was built. But we know the Jewett brothers built bridges between about 1860 and 1890. This bridge is sometimes called the "Creamery Covered Bridge." This is because there used to be a creamery (a place that makes butter and cheese) right next to it. You can still see parts of the old creamery in the woods nearby.
Bridge Repairs and Road Access
This area used to be busy, but over time, fewer people lived there. The bridge and the road leading to it became very old and worn out. The bridge had to close in 1994 because it was unsafe.
Luckily, a company called Alpine Construction fixed it up completely in 2009. Even after the repairs, the road leading to the bridge is still a narrow, gravel path. It's often closed during certain times of the year. Because the bridge is in such a remote spot, some people have unfortunately written graffiti inside it.
