Covered Bridges on Two Wheels
A photographic journey to Vermont's Covered Bridges
Henry Bridge
Current Status: Open
Location: Bennington, on River Road
Crosses: Walloomsuc River
GPS: 42.912482N, 73.254653W
Built: 1989 Length: 120.5 feet
Truss Design: Town lattice
WGN*: VT-02-02#2 NRHP**: not eligible
* WGN: World Guide to Covered Bridges Number
**NRHP: Listed on National Register of Historic Places
The Henry Bridge is one of several in the state that was named for the family that owned the adjacent land. The Henry House that stands at the bridge was built as a store and tavern by the family and is operated as an inn today.
Built in 1840 as a classic Town lattice bridge, the trusses were later doubled up to support the heavy loads of ore being mined nearby. Many years later, in 1952, it was determined (presumably through modern engineering methods) that the doubled up lattice was not needed and was actually detrimental to the bridge. It was removed.
In 1989 the bridge was found to need extensive repairs. I haven't been able to find a whole lot of detail on just what happened, but when researching the replacement of the Bennington Falls (Paper Mill Village) Bridge, I found something a little odd. When referring to the Bennington Falls Bridge replacement, the lead engineer on the State's comprehensive study on the condition of Vermont's covered bridges alluded to some sort of controversy concerning the Henry Bridge which was worked on years earlier. It appears that the contractor hired to repair the Henry Bridge somehow took it upon themselves to completely replace the bridge with all new materials, bypassing the State Division for Historic Preservation. I can't verify exactly what happened (yet), and possibly the whole affair is not documented, but I do know that the same contractor has restored other covered bridges in the state since then (including the Bennington Falls Bridge).
The current Henry Bridge is a replica of the original, and while authentically constructed, is no longer considered historic due to its young age. The former Henry Bridge had already made it on the National Registry list. The Henry Bridge and Bennington Falls Bridge are essentially clones, having the same design and nearly identical dimensions. The nearby Silk Bridge, while a shorter span, is very much like the other two. It is known that the original Bennington Falls Bridge was built by Charles F. Sears. His father, Benjamin Sears, built the original Silk Bridge. Like father, like son. Since the Silk and Henry Bridges were built right around the same time, it is strongly suspected (but not confirmed) that father built the original Henry Bridge as well.
Visiting the bridge:
As with the other two Bennington bridges, the Henry Bridge is easy to locate, not far from the urban center and on paved roads. Because of this, traffic at the bridge can be brisk.
On the south side of the bridge, directly across the road from the Henry House Inn is a very small wide spot in the road where you could park. The better option is on the north side where adjacent to the bridge is a small picnic area with ample parking. From that parking area, it is an easy walk to the riverside where the remains of a dam can be seen.