The wooden spans of the Walloomsac
Vermont has more than a hundred historic covered bridges — the highest concentration per square mile of any American state. In Bennington County, a tight cluster of three 19th-century wooden spans crosses the Walloomsac River within about two miles of one another, which makes them the most efficient covered-bridge tour in the state.
Built between roughly 1840 and 1889, the Silk Road, Paper Mill Village and Henry bridges are all examples of the Town lattice truss, patented by the Connecticut architect Ithiel Town in 1820. They sit among willows, fields and old mill sites north of downtown Bennington, and all three are still in use.
Two more sit within a short drive: the Chiselville Bridge, perched 40 feet above the Roaring Branch near Sunderland, and the West Arlington Bridge over the Batten Kill beside Norman Rockwell’s former home — arguably the most photographed bridge in Vermont.
Why bridges were covered
The common story — that roofs kept horses calm, or gave travellers shelter from storms — is charming and wrong. Covered bridges were roofed for one reason: to protect the structural timber from weather.
An exposed wooden bridge deck and truss will rot within ten to fifteen years in a New England climate of freeze, thaw and rain. Put a roof and siding on the same structure and it will last well over 180 years, as these bridges demonstrate. The covering is a raincoat for the engineering, nothing more.
The Town lattice truss that all three Bennington bridges use was a genuine innovation. Patented by Ithiel Town in 1820, it replaced complex, carefully jointed timber frames with a simple web of three-by-ten-inch planks crisscrossed at roughly 45 degrees and pinned together with wooden trunnels — tree-nails — rather than forged iron. The result could be built by local carpenters from readily available sawn lumber, without a blacksmith or an engineer, and it was strong enough to span a hundred feet or more. Town charged a royalty per foot of bridge, and the design spread across the country.
The practical effect is visible when you step inside: instead of massive posts and braces, you see a dense diagonal lattice, with daylight coming through it. Open eaves on several of these bridges let light in to illuminate the framing, which is why they photograph so well from the inside.
The Bennington trio
Three classic Town lattice spans sit close together north of downtown, in a loop you can drive in under an hour.
Silk Road Covered Bridge, 1840 — 88 feet, at the end of Silk Road just north of Route 67A. The oldest standing covered bridge in the county, with a low-slung roof, dark weathered red siding and open eaves that let light illuminate the lattice. The best photograph is from the south bank of the Walloomsac looking downstream.
Paper Mill Village Bridge, rebuilt 1889 — 125 feet on Murphy Road, the longest of the cluster. It stands on the site of Vermont’s first paper mill, established in 1784, built on the foundations of an earlier 1840 bridge, with unusually high clearance above the channel. The mill pond and old mill structures nearby explain Bennington’s early water-power economy.
Henry Covered Bridge, 1840 and rebuilt 1989 — 121 feet at the junction of Harrington Loop and River Road, near the historic Henry House. Structural decay forced a complete dismantling and rebuild in 1989 using historic timber-framing methods. A small public park beside it has picnic tables and river access for wading and fishing.
Chiselville Bridge, 1870 — in Sunderland, twenty minutes north, a Town lattice span perched 40 feet above the Roaring Branch, with a historic sign at the entrance threatening a one-dollar fine for driving faster than a walk.
West Arlington Bridge, 1852 — an 80-foot span over the Batten Kill beside a white church and an 1858 schoolhouse, with Norman Rockwell’s former home and studio on the riverbank. The most photographed bridge in the state.
The driving and cycling loop
The three Walloomsac bridges form a natural circuit from downtown Bennington, and the roads between them are quiet enough to cycle.
Start downtown and head north on Route 67A. Turn onto Silk Road and follow it to the Silk Road Bridge, the oldest of the three, standing among willows and open fields. Continue north on Silk Road, then follow Murphy Road to the Paper Mill Village Bridge, the longest, with its mill pond above. From there, take Murphy Road to River Road and on to the Henry Covered Bridge at Harrington Loop. Return south on Route 67 to Bennington.
The whole loop is about eight miles of driving and takes an hour with photograph stops, or a comfortable morning by bike. All three bridges carry light traffic, so watch for cars when walking through them, and pull fully off the road to park.
Two things to know about photographing them. Morning and late-afternoon light rakes across the siding and shows the weathering; midday flattens it. And the best angles are almost always from the riverbank rather than the road — look for the informal paths down to the water at each site.
Adding the rest of the county
The bridges pair naturally with Bennington’s other historic sites, all within fifteen minutes.
The Battle Monument — 306 feet, Vermont’s tallest structure, with an elevator to a 200-foot observation level and views into three states.
Old First Church and Robert Frost’s grave — an 1806 meeting house and the poet’s family plot in the churchyard, free and open.
The Bennington Museum — the world’s largest public Grandma Moses collection, the Bennington Flag, and the town’s 19th-century pottery.
Bennington Potters — the Potters Yard on County Street, with works tours, an outlet shop and a cafe.
Park-McCullough House, North Bennington — a 35-room 1865 Second Empire mansion with original furnishings.
Robert Frost Stone House Museum, Shaftsbury — ten minutes north, where Frost wrote Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.
Practical information and where to stay
All the Walloomsac bridges lie within three miles of downtown Bennington, at the junction of US Route 7 and Route 9 in Vermont’s far southwest — about 40 minutes from Albany’s airport, three hours from Boston and four from New York. There are no fees and no facilities at any of the bridges; parking is informal roadside or in small gravel pull-offs.
Any season works. Foliage in the first half of October is the classic time and the bridges are at their most photographed then; winter snow on the red siding is arguably better and completely uncrowded; and summer adds swimming and wading at the Henry bridge park. Spring runoff makes the river loudest.
Bennington itself has well-priced motels, inns and bed-and-breakfasts, including historic houses near the monument, and is consistently cheaper than Manchester thirty minutes north. Arlington, fifteen minutes north on Route 7A, puts you near the West Arlington bridge and the Batten Kill. Compare live prices in the search below, with free cancellation on most rooms.
Good to know
Why are covered bridges covered?+
To protect the timber, not the travellers. An exposed wooden bridge rots within ten to fifteen years in a New England climate; roofed and sided, the same structure lasts well over 180 years. The covering is essentially a raincoat for the engineering.
What is a Town lattice truss?+
A bridge design patented by Ithiel Town in 1820 that replaced complex jointed frames with a web of three-by-ten-inch planks crisscrossed at about 45 degrees and pinned with wooden trunnels. Local carpenters could build it from sawn lumber without ironwork, and it spanned a hundred feet or more.
Which is the oldest covered bridge in Bennington County?+
The Silk Road Covered Bridge of 1840, an 88-foot Town lattice span at the end of Silk Road just north of Route 67A, with dark weathered red siding and open eaves that light the lattice inside.
Can you see the Bennington bridges in one trip?+
Yes — Silk Road, Paper Mill Village and Henry all cross the Walloomsac within about two miles of each other, forming an eight-mile loop from downtown Bennington that takes about an hour by car with photo stops, or a comfortable morning by bike.
What is the most photographed covered bridge in Vermont?+
Arguably the West Arlington Bridge of 1852, an 80-foot span over the Batten Kill beside a white church and an 1858 one-room schoolhouse, with Norman Rockwell’s former home and studio on the riverbank nearby.