The Coombs Covered Bridge crosses the Ashuelot River |
This bridge was built in 1837 by Anthony Coombs Jr, whose father, Anthony Coombs, was a Massachusetts expatriate who settled in Winchester after the Revolutionary War. Coombs lived just past the bridge.
After deteriorating to uselessness, in 1964 the bridge was extensively repaired and in 1967 completely renovated, with a new tin roof, beams, and sidings. Nonetheless, the bridge still appears today much as it did in 1837. A hundred and fifty years ago, if you'd looked down the river in the month of May, this is what you'd have seen. Well, except that in the nineteenth century, most of New England was deforested and given over to farms, so it's likely there would have been a lot fewer trees. New England is more covered with forest now than it has been for hundreds of years. Urban sprawl, however, is cutting into the forests once more, and this is the kind of growth from which forests find it hard to recover.
Portal to the Coombs Covered Bridge |
I helped replace framing on this bridge nine years ago. Heavy truck damage a number of ties and several sets of Upper Lateral Bracing, as well as the replacement of most of the siding & trim on the east Portal.
ReplyDeleteDid you get over to see the Ashuelot just a few miles to the west?
I'm yet to see West Cornwell & Bull's, but they're on my short list.
I know I Will be stopping back by !
Yeah, I am saving the other covered bridges for later, spacing them out, but the Ashuelot Bridge is probably the nicest covered bridge of the bunch. Nice design, separate walkway.
DeleteYou get to work on covered bridges? SO JEALOUS!!!! Also, definitely adding your bridge blog to my reader :) Thanks!