=orm No. 10-300 (Rev. 10-74) UAIA SHhE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM
SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS ______TYPE ALL ENTRIES - COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS______| NAME
HISTORIC
AND/OR COMMON
STREET & NUMBER JRe*Hre~ 128 at Housatonic River _NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY, TOWN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Uj a ^Cornwall __ VICINITY OF 6th - Toby Moffett STATE CODE COUNTY CODE Connecticut 09 Litchfield 005 UCLA SSIFI c ATI ON
CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS PRESENT USE _ DISTRICT 3C-PUBLIC —OCCUPIED —AGRICULTURE —MUSEUM _ BUILDING(S) _PRIVATE —UNOCCUPIED —COMMERCIAL —PARK X.STRUCTURE _BOTH —WORK IN PROGRESS —EDUCATIONAL —PRIVATE RESIDENCE —SITE PUBLIC ACQUISITION ACCESSIBLE —ENTERTAINMENT —RELIGIOUS —OBJECT _IN PROCESS —YES: RESTRICTED —GOVERNMENT —SCIENTIFIC —BEING CONSIDERED X-YES: UNRESTRICTED —INDUSTRIAL ^.TRANSPORTATION _NO —MILITARY —OTHER: OWNER OF PROPERTY NAME State of Connecticut
STREET & NUMBER State Capitol Capitol Avenue CITY, TOWN STATE Hartford __ VICINITY OF CT LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION
COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS,ETC. Cornwall Town Clerk
STREET & NUMBER Town Hall - Pine Street CITY, TOWN STATE
Cornwall CT [REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS
Connecticut Statewide Inventory of Historic Resources DATE 1975 —FEDERAL j^STATE —COUNTY —LOCAL DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS Connecticut Historical Commission CITY, TOWN STATE Hartford CT DESCRIPTION
CONDITION CHECK ONE CHECK ONE
—EXCELLENT —DETERIORATED —UNALTERED X^ORIGINAL SITE X-GOOD —RUINS ^ALTERED _MOVED DATE______FAIR _UNEXPOSED DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE The West Cornwall Bridge crosses the Housatonic River at one end of a small villftg
PERIOD AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE - CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW
—PREHISTORIC _ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC —COMMUNITY PLANNING —LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE —RELIGION — 1400-1499 _ARCHEOL.OGY-HISTORIC —CONSERVATION —LAW —SCIENCE 1500-1599 —^AGRICULTURE —ECONOMICS —LITERATURE —SCULPTURE _1600-1699 _ARCHITECTURE —EDUCATION —MILITARY —SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN 1700-1799 __ART XL-ENGINEERING —MUSIC —THEATER X-1800-1899 —COMMERCE ^EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT —PHILOSOPHY —TRANSPORTATION — 1900- —COMMUNICATIONS ^INDUSTRY —POLITICS/GOVERNMENT _OTHER (SPECIFY) —INVENTION
SPECIFIC DATES 1841 - built BUILDER/ARCHITECT Ithiel Town (?)
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The West Cornwall Bridge is significant because it_is covered bridges in Connecticut, and because it displays an important engineering innovation. Due to their resistance to decay, covered bridges were extremely common throughout America in the 19th century, yet comparatively few remain. Since it is still in use, the West Cornwall Bridge is doubly valuable, since it is an historic resource accessible in its original context. Built in 1841, this bridge is borne by a Town Lattice truss, a series of closely spaced, overlapping triangles with neither arches nor uprights. Because it avoided the serious problem of fatigue at the joints between uprights and diagonals, this truss was strong and durable, and exceptionally easy to construct* Most of the stress was borne by the pegs at each point where the triangles over lap, but since there are so many, no individual point is critical. For these
Although today he is recognized primarily as one of America's foremost architects, Ithiel Town (1784-1844) achieved a great fortune and world renown through the invention of his lattice truss. Because he collected $1 per foot in royalties and $2 per foot if he discovered an infringement of his patent, Town made it a habit to visit in person Northern communities where bridges were being built or considered. Interestingly, the construction of the West Cornwall Bridge is said to have been supervised by Town himself, but even if not, the 242* span remains an excellent example of a major innovation in bridge design. IMAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Alien, Richard S. "Covered Bridges in Connecticut," The Antiquarian. II (November, 1950), 11-19. . Covered Bridges of the Northeast. Brattleboro: Stephen Greene Press, 1957. Connecticut Department of Transportation, Bureau of Highways, "Restoration of the Covered Bridge." transcript of hearing. Cornwall. Qr-hr>hi»r 1^ ^GEOGRAPHICAL DATA ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY one 0 I '"•• UTM REFERENCES /? V
A|l.8| |6|3.5|7T€hO| 14.613,616.1.01 J_ ZONE EASTING NORTHING ZONE EASTING NORTHING cl , I I I . I i , I I . I , I , . I Pi • I 1 I i 1 I.I.I.. VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION
The bridge is built across the town line between Cornwall, of which the villag< of West Cornwall is a part, and Sharon, Connecticut.
LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES
STATE CODE COUNTY CODE
STATE CODE COUNTY CODE
I FORM PREPARED BY NAME/TITLE Bruce Clouette, Consultant
ORGANIZATION DATE Connecticut Historical Commission July 25. 1975 STREET & NUMBER TELEPHONE 59 South Prospect Street (203) 566-3005
CITY OR TOWN STATE Hartford CT STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS:
NATIONAL__ STATE _Jy_ LOCAL___
As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service^,
STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE TITLE ;^Cw\
GPO 888-445 Form No. 10-300a (Rev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM
CONTI NUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER PAGE
West Cornwall Bridge one
DeVito, Michael C. Connecticut's Old Timbered Crossings* Warehouse Point: DeVito Enterprises, 1964.