Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge

NH Historical Highway Marker #0158 NH Covered Bridge #20

Location:West of N.H. Route 12A, five miles south of Plainfield Village on Cornish Toll Bridge Road. This bridge spans the Connecticut River connecting the towns of Cornish N.H. and Windsor, Vt. Style of Bridge:Town lattice truss Year of Construction:1866 Original Cost:$9,000 Structural Characteristics:The bridge is 449'5" long and consists of two spans of 204'0" and 203'0". It has an overall width of 24'0"., a roadway width of 19'6", and a maximum vertical clearance of 12'9". It is posted for ten tons. Maintained By:New Hampshire Department of Transportation World Guide Number:29-10-09 New Hampshire Number:20

This bridge is the longest wooden bridge in New Hampshire and the longest that spans over two states. We found this beauty from the Vermont side because my GPS brought me that way.

On the Vermont side there are houses lining the small road right up to the entrance. There is no place to pull over and see the bridge or even see a view because the houses block everything but the entrance.

I drive a Chevy Tahoe which is a large wide vehicle so, driving across this two lane bridge was a bit nail biting for me because I was a bit over my allotted space. Built in 1866 they didn't take need to make it very wide to accommodate two lanes.

Once across the bridge, which is beautiful by the way, on the right is a parking area. Here on the New Hampshire side you can park, take pictures and even read the NH Historical Highway Marker to find out more about the bridge.

The Cornish-Windsor covered bridge is unlike most other covered bridges I've come across. This one sees a huge amount of traffic and is a major tourist attraction in the area.

If you haven't seen this beautiful piece of history yet you should definitely plan a trip to do so. So many of the covered bridges have been lost to neglect or natural disaster. I plan to see every one in every state and document them. One day these will be gone and only seen in history books.