Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge, Cornish, New Hampshire-Windsor, Vermont, United States

Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge, Cornish, New Hampshire-Windsor, Vermont, United States

Few images seem as American as those of covered bridges, set in the pristine countryside and evocative of simpler times. Though found around the world, covered bridges proliferated in the new world, "where wood was plentiful and time was at a premium" Dupré writes in Bridges. She estimated that more than ten thousand covered bridges were built in the United States from 1805 until 1885. The Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge, built in 1866, crosses the Connecticut River between New Hampshire and Vermont. Cited as the longest two –lane covered bridge in America, it is on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridges were covered to protect the structures from snow, ice, and rain and ensure their longevity. But due to wood's vulnerably to fire, floods, and other natural disasters, and with the advent of cars and highways, few remain today. By the mid 50's, there were less than two thousand left, according to Dupré.