Townshend, Vermont

We spent Memorial Day weekend camping at Bald Mountain Campground, a quiet campground located along the West River on State Forest Road in Townshend, Vermont.

Tyler at the entrance to Bald Mountain 
Campground

Sunday was a gorgeous, sunny day and we decided to walk the mile and a half up State Forest Road to check out Scott Bridge. Along our walk, we spotted this little bridge tucked off in the woods on the side of the road. Upon getting home, I did a bit of research and discovered the bridge was built by James Otis Follett. According to Wikipedia, "Follet (May 12, 1842 – February 23, 1911) was a farmer, stonemason, and builder of bridges from Townshend, Vermont... During the 1890s and 1900s, Follett built as many as 40 bridges and culverts; 11 are known to survive. An account of Follett's work in the Bennington Banner in 1977 called his bridges "engineering marvels and parts of the scenic landscape of the region" and noted: 'Follett excelled in hand-crafted stone masonry – now practically a lost art. The bridges have no arch supports and contain little or no mortar. They are held together by the critical placement of a 'keystone', plus the force of the weight of the materials above the arch.'" More information on James Otis Follett can be found on Google Books.

James Otis Follett keystone bridge, located on 
State Forest Road in Townshend, Vermont

The Scott Bridge is the longest covered bridge in the state of Vermont. Unfortunately, it is no longer passable, but it;s still pretty nonetheless.

Scott Bridge sign at the Route 30 side of the bridge

Scott Bridge from the State Forest Road side

Scott Bridge from the State Forest Road side

Scott Bridge from the State Forest Road side

Scott Bridge from the State Forest 
Road side

We stopped to read & photograph a couple of historical markers on the side of Route 30 in West Townshend. Both of these markers are located side-by-side in the parking lot of the West Townshend Country Store (which currently appears to be a thrift shop and post office).

Clarina Howard Nichols historical marker in 
West Townshend, Vermont

Anthony is distantly related to Alphonso Taft and his son, President William Howard Taft. I discovered Alphonso was born in Townshend when researching Anthony's genealogy.

Taft Homestead Site historical marker in 
West Townshend, Vermont