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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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Bethel or Piermont, Orange County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: VT/45-09-13x / NH-05-95x
County: Orange County / Grafton County
Township: Bradford - Piermont
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Bethel or Piermont
Crosses: Connecticut River
Truss type: Town
Spans: 2
Length: 360'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1877
Builder:
When Lost: 04 Nov 1927
Cause: Flood
Latitude: N43 58.68
Longitude: W072 06.72
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: On Route 25 (Waits River Road).

Bethel Bridge, Piermont, NH - Bradford, VT. Built 1877 Lost during flood of November 1927
Todd Clark Collection

Comments:
This bridge was constructed as a toll bridge. The tol house stood on the south side of the road on the Bradford end. The bridge became free in 1900 when Piermont contributed $4,400 and Bradford contributed $1,100 to purchase the structure. The covered bridge was washed away at 11:15 PM on November 4, 1927. It floated a mile and a half downstream and was deposited in a meadow, undamaged. The new bridge was constructed four feet higher than the covered structure. The first automobile crossed the new bridge on September 10, 1928.

Sources:
Haskins, Harold W. A History of Bradford, Vermont. Littleton, NH: Printed by Courier Print., 1968, page 212.
Connecticut River Valley Covered Bridge Society. Bulletin, Volume X, No. 1, Summer 1963, page 3