Scott Covered Bridge Townshend
— — the long wooden tunnel the river still runs under.
Not only on a wall.
“The longest wooden covered bridge in Vermont, reaching across the West River just north of Townshend village. Three spans, dark inside even at noon, the planks loud under footfall. Closed to cars since the 1950s, so the only sound is the river underneath and whatever weather the valley is moving through that afternoon. — from the studio
Scott Covered Bridge Townshend, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Scott Covered Bridge crosses the West River between Townshend and West Townshend in Windham County, southern Vermont. Built in 1870 by Harrison Chamberlin, it runs 277 feet across three spans, the long center span a Town lattice and the two shorter approaches king-post trusses. It was the longest single-span covered bridge in the state when it opened. The bridge sits a short drive north of Townshend village along Route 30, near the Townshend Dam Recreation Area on the West River.
The bridge is timber, not stone, but it carries that same kind of weight. The center Town lattice is built from sawn planks pinned together with wooden trunnels, a pattern Ithiel Town patented in 1820 and Vermont builders kept using for the rest of the century. The two flanking king-post spans rest on stone piers in the river. Closed to vehicle traffic in 1955 after a heavy truck damaged the deck, it was restored by the state and now carries only walkers across the West River.
Free, daylight hours, no gate. The bridge sits along Route 30 about two miles north of Townshend village; a small pull-off and an interpretive sign mark the turn. It is pedestrian-only since 1955, so visitors walk through the long shadow of the deck and look down at the West River. Townshend State Park is a few minutes further upriver, and the Townshend Dam offers a longer walk along the water. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.