Covered Bridges of Maine

It is winter in Maine and our first since coming here from California.  In continuing my photographic works I decided to do a series on the Covered Bridges in Maine of which sadly to say there are only nine.  To see the history of Covered Bridges please click on this link  "MaineDOT".

It is the morning of January 14th and we are experiencing what is known as the January thaw.  The temperature was in the high forties with a bright sun shining. Joan and I loaded up our trusty 4x4 and headed out to the country in search of covered bridges. For our first bridge I chose the Robyville Bridge in the township of Corinth.

This bridge, the only completely shingled covered bridge in the State, was built in 1876. The supporting members are the Long truss design and span 73 feet between the stone abutments. The bridge crosses Kenduskeag Stream in Robyville Village in the town of Corinth about three miles northwest of Kenduskeag Village. The bridge was reinforced in 1984 to carry local traffic.

Not knowing what we would find when we arrived at the bridge site we were presently surprised.  I was concerned that due to winter the bridge would not photograph well.  As you can see I worried for not.

These wonderful old bridges are spread throughout the state and I knew it would take us months to find and see them all. For this outing it was our intent to find at least two. So off we go in search of Lowes Bridge located in Guilford-Sangerville.

As we were driving through white covered farm land we spotted this delightful home peeking through the trees.  In finding the driveway to this home and using my zoom lens I was able to get a closer view of this whimsical home.

If at some later point in time I discover the history to this home I will add it here.

This next picture is just to give you an idea of what the countryside looks like as we search for the next bridge.

In short time we find another unusual home which to me looks like a very small school house.  It did not appear to be in use as there were no signs or tracks in the snow.

We finally arrived at the road where the next bridge was to be only to find that it was not passable due to the heavy snow from a previous storm.  A quick glance at the map and I felt we may be able to get to it from another road. After some driving and with luck this was our first view of Lowes Bridge.

This bridge, built in 1857, was washed away by the flood of April 1, 1987. A modern covered bridge, patterned after the original, was built on the original abutments in 1990. The bridge has a clear span of 120 feet over the Piscataquis River. It is located just off State Route 15 south of Guilford Village

A few more pictures to give you an idea of what these bridges look like including a look at the heavy timber used in their construction.

It is now getting late in the day and time to start the trek towards home.  In the months to come I will continue our search for the Covered Bridges of Maine.

To be continued...