Comstock Covered Bridge

Connecticut is not first on the list when you think covered bridges, but there are a few historic bridges still in existence in the state. This is... more

by Joan Carroll

Title

Comstock Covered Bridge

Artist

Joan Carroll

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photograph

Description

Connecticut is not first on the list when you think covered bridges, but there are a few historic bridges still in existence in the state. This is one: Comstock Covered Bridge over the Salmon River near the East Hampton-Colchester town line. It is one of Connecticut's three remaining covered bridges -- the other two being the Bulls Bridge in Kent and the Covered Bridge in West Cornwall. Comstock Bridge served travelers on the main road between Colchester and Middletown for nearly sixty years, until a new concrete bridge was built downstream in 1932. Now situated in a public park, Comstock Bridge is a well-preserved example of the Howe truss, an innovative design patented in 1840. The Howe truss combined vertical iron rods and diagonal timbers and was widely used in railroad construction as well as for highway and factory bridges. In the 1930s Comstock Bridge was extensively renovated by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal program that put unemployed young men to work improving parks and forests. Among the changes introduced at that time were the present wooden gates and new siding salvaged from an old barn. In the early 1970s the bridge was again renovated. Steel gusset plates were added to reinforce the original wooden joints. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. (from: http://www.past-inc.org/historic-bridges/covered-comstock.html). It underwent further reconstruction in 2009-2011. "Its planks, once weathered brown and gray, have been replaced with new boards, tan in color. Weathered and bent shingles once covered with splotches of lichen have been replaced by a perfectly set roof. The old bridge � at one time aging gracefully � sags no more, sitting ramrod straight on huge granite footings." (from http://articles.courant.com/2012-05-03/news/hc-marteka-rebuilt-covered-bridge-0504-20120503_1_bridge-weathering-first-fish-stories). That was my first impression upon seeing this bridge, that it had been greatly gentrified in an attempt to preserve it. Nevertheless it is a taste of local history.

FEATURED PHOTO, COVERED BRIDGES OR HISTORICAL BUILDINGS group, 5/31/19

FEATURED PHOTO, ABFA Platinum group, 5/1/19

FEATURED PHOTO, Arts Fantastic World group, 4/21/19

FEATURED PHOTO, No Place Like Home group, 4/19/19

FEATURED PHOTO, 3 a day AAA Images group, 11/19/14

FEATURED PHOTO, Landscape and Landmark Photography group, 11/19/14

FEATURED PHOTO, The World We See group, 11/18/14

FEATURED PHOTO, The Road to Self Promotion group, 11/18/14

Uploaded

November 18th, 2014