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Vermont Agency of Transportation Archaeology and Historic Resources |
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A Community Link for over 200 Years. |
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Rarely does a bridge fit so elegantly into the landscape as does the Hutton Hill Bridge in Cookeville, Vermont. But traveling across Cookeville brook, between the quiet Orange County hamlets of Cookeville and Corinth Center, one can easily appreciate the graceful blend of aesthetics and function that the new Hutton Hill Bridge brings to the region. This blend is thanks in large part to community participation in the bridge's design.
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The bridge is located in the Cookeville Village Historic District. This is a charming historic area, which architectural historian Robert L. McCullough has described as a "remarkably well preserved and well defined" village with "a strong sense of integrity." A walk in the woods surrounding the Hutton Hill Bridge reveals the fragmentary evidence of some of this community's bygone activities. Archaeological fragments of stone walls and cobbles are all that are left of W. M. Edwards' nineteenth-century carriage shop, carpenter shop, dam, and water power system. While these archaeological sites are now silent, it is not difficult to imagine the commotion that must one have been associated with them. At one time, Hutton Hill bustled with activity. In addition to the carpenter and carriage shops, the hillside was dotted with an inn, a bobbin shop, blacksmith shop, and sawmill - all providing the economic life-blood of this area.
Since the 1780s a bridge has stood in this very spot. A bridge's job is to connect, and the Hutton Hill Bridge did that and more. It provided an economic as well as social link for the two rural villages of Cookeville and Corinth Center. A number of previous structures have served as the Hutton Hill Bridge over the centuries. The first bridge was almost certainly a timber structure; probably built in the late eighteenth century. In 1917, a reinforced-concrete bridge was built on this location by a local entrepreneur, with interests in quarrying and other industrial activities. Time and nature ravaged this bridge until finally, in the early 1990s, it had to be closed due to safety concerns. |
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For their replacement bridge, the people of Corinth were adamant that they did not want an ordinary concrete and steel bridge over the Cookeville Brook. They wanted something that would not just simply connect the two neighboring communities to each other. They wanted a structure that would connect the communities to their collective past. They wanted a bridge that would meet with the approval of their ancestors - a bridge that would not have appeared out of place 200 years ago. And that is exactly what they got. Working closely with the Vermont Agency of Transportation, the community conceptualized a bridge that became a reality on Saturday, July 1, 2000. First and foremost, this new bridge serves as a connection between Cookeville and Corinth. But it does so in a way that maintains the historic and aesthetic integrity of the lovely Cookeville Historic District. The new bridge is made of concrete, but at the request of the town Selectboard, the façade of the bridge has been molded to look like stone. Even on close examination, the stones appear like cobbles plucked directly from the chilly rocky waters of Cookville Brook. And sorry, drivers, you'll just have to slow down when you cross the Hutton Hill Bridge. The road's original sharp curve has been preserved too - just as the folks of Cookeville and Corinth wanted it. But don't worry, this will give you a chance to get a good look at the stalwart structure of Hutton Hill.
A lot has changed at Hutton Hill, Vermont since its first bridge was constructed in the late 1700s; and a lot has remained the same. Nevertheless, the new bridge rounds the same curve, with the same integrity of function and style that its predecessors have had for over 200 years. And by doing so, it continues to connect the lives that are the foundations of the Corinth and Cookeville communities. Vermont Historic Bridge Program The Burlington Free Press, Sunday, July, 2, 2000 The Cultural Resource Group, Louis Berger & Associates, Inc. Article by Chris Slesar Photos courtesy of Chris Slesar and Scott Newman Return to Archaeology and Historic Resources Home Page |
