Covered Bridges on Two Wheels
A photographic journey to Vermont's Covered Bridges
Johnny Esau Footbridge
Current Status: Pedestrian Only (by design)
Location: Marlboro, at the Elementary School
Crosses: unnamed brook
GPS: 42.868344N, 72.720250W
Built: 2004 Length: 15 feet
Truss Design: Town lattice
WGN*: VT-13-q NRHP**: not eligible
* WGN: World Guide to Covered Bridges Number
**NRHP: Listed on National Register of Historic Places
If you have been visiting these pages in the order they are listed in the menu, you will have just seen a footbridge that is an authentically constructed, scaled-down version of a vehicular covered bridge. There aren't many of them, but this is another.
The bridge that crosses a small brook on the grounds of the Marlboro Elementary School was built by the students at the school under the guidance of now-retired teacher and covered bridge enthusiast Johnny Esau.
Johnny used covered bridges to teach about such subjects as architecture, history, and the science and physics of structural loading.
The class started with toothpick models to learn the concepts, and then began building the bridge indoors during the winter. When the spring weather permitted, they first laid out and then assembled the bridge with the help of parents and community.
You will notice tags attached to the bridge (and the similarly constructed Ledoux Hometown Footbridge) at various places here and there. They are little educational markers denoting the various parts of the construction. For instance, in the third photo of the slideshow above, there is a little tag marking the portal.
While the proportions of the bridge are atypical of automobile bridges (it is very tall compared to its width), it is a charming, and educational little gem constructed in the same way as its bigger cousins.
Visiting the bridge:
The Marlboro Elementary School is easy to find on busy Route 9 (the "Molly Stark Trail") - a main east-west corridor in southern Vermont.
The bridge is not very far from the parking lot, and if you are like me and trying to get your motorcycle in a photo, it can be done if the parking is available. I would assume in the middle of the summer the lot will be wide-open.
One tip: if you visit during school hours, as I did, you would be advised to first go and check in with the office to let them know you are there and why. I guess a large man rolling in on a Harley-Davidson with a leather motorcycle jacket walking near the basketball court made someone a little nervous.
The person who came out was very understanding and courteous when I explained why I was there.