Ron Patch: The Cheshire Covered Bridge

Today, many of us refer to the Cheshire Bridge as “The Toll Bridge,” which connects Springfield to Charlestown. But what do we know about its history? Here is what I learned.

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The Cheshire Covered Bridge BY RON PATCH November 14, 2018 Today, many of us refer to the Cheshire Bridge as “The Toll Bridge,” which connects Springfield to Charlestown. But what do we know about its history? Below is what I learned. It was about 1760 when Simon Olcott received a charter to operate a ferry at this location. Now a ferry of 1760 would not be something familiar to us today. It might have been as simple as a wooden rowboat or a simple wooden raft. A rope would have crossed the river with a pulley on each bank. As primitive as this ferry was, General John Stark moved 1,200 troops across the river using this ferry on his way to the Battle of Bennington. Cheshire Bridge Cheshire Covered Bridge circa 1896. Photo provided by Springfield Art & Historical Society. In 1804, the Cheshire Bridge Corporation was granted a charter to build a bridge at this location. This wooden bridge was completed in 1806. It was destroyed by the freshet of 1831. One source I used says it was 1833. This bridge was built by Isaac Fisher of Charlestown and later Springfield. The second bridge was built in 1831-1833. An Englishman by the name of Captain Frederick Marryat came to this country in the 1830s and travelled around this country. Marryat wrote a book of his travels in 1839, “A Diary of America.” He describes Charlestown, N.H. as a pretty village and comments how residents of this town don’t like taxes. The turnpike that began at the Cheshire Bridge angered Charlestown residents. Reminiscent of the Boston Tea Party, one evening the tollhouse was destroyed. A group of men with a couple teams of horses, with aid of a hawser (a strong rope or cable), hooked the teams to the tollhouse and dragged it down to the river. It was sent down the river along with the gate and the toll board. This bridge was a three-span bridge of the Town lattice truss design. The abutments and piers were built of granite. The length of the bridge was 506 feet. “On the upside of each pier, and united with it, is an incline plane of granite, and capped with oak timber, bolted to the stone work, to receive and break the ice, and other obstructions, which may flow against them….The bridge is to be lighted in the day by six dead lights in the sides, and six glazed sky-lights in the roof; and in the night by large lamps, suspended from the center of the beam overhead.” The contractors for the bridge were Isaac Damons and Lyman Kingsley of Northampton, Mass. Isaac Silsby, a local mason, supervised the construction of the substructure. This bridge was replaced in 1896-1897 with the first steel bridge. When the wooden bridge was being torn down, all of the siding and timbers were thrown in the river. A Mr. Benware whose house had burned to the ground in 1895 found these materials useful. The Benwares retrieved many of the discarded boards and timbers to rebuild their house. It was said it took six loads drawn by two horses to retrieve everything they needed. The Benware place was framed with six-inch thick boards. In 1896, the Springfield Electric Railway Company, the operators of the six-mile electric streetcar line connecting Charlestown and Springfield, purchased the covered bridge. It was torn down as mentioned above and replaced with a steel bridge in 1897. First steel bridge The first iron bridge was three spans and known as a Pratt truss. This bridge carried the electric railroad as well as horse drawn vehicles. The Berlin Iron Bridge Company of Berlin, Conn. was the contractor. This bridge used the same stone piers and abutments as the previous bridge. Second steel bridge The second and current iron bridge was built in 1930 by the McClintic-Marshall Company of Pittsburg, Pa. This bridge is also a three-span Pratt truss, 489 feet long. When I went to the Charlestown Historical Society last week, workmen were painting the bridge. Traffic was restricted to one lane with a flagman at each end. As I drove over the bridge I looked down in the river and noticed a rather large barge in the river. I didn’t get a great look but I think I noticed a boom to lift workmen up under the bridge. This old bridge is pushing 100 years old. If the maintenance is kept up, this old bridge will be around for our grandchildren. Sources for this article were supplied by the Charlestown Historical Society and the Springfield Art & Historical Society. This week’s old saying. “Age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are cheese.”