yup... that one there is a big-un all right!!! 
Posted on 05/24/2008 2:37:38 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob
Have you ever seen a bridge pull? There are bridge pulls that are parts of furniture, but I mean the old-fashioned kind. The ones involving a team of oxen, a covered wooden bridge, and a stream. There may not have been one of those anywhere in the US in the last century. And there may not be another one, ever, after the one I saw this morning in Highlands, North Carolina.
In 1805, give or take a few years, the Bagley Covered Bridge was constructed in New Hampshire. Among the notables who crossed its ancient timbers were the Marquis de Lafayette and President Teddy Roosevelt. But in 1966 the town council voted to tear it down, because it was deteriorated and “wasn’t worth the money to repair it.”
A family of “bridge wrights” (people who fashion bridges) bid $1 for the remains of that bridge, bought it, and stored its remaining parts. To that, Arnold Graton’s family added hand-hewn beams from his parents’ house. Then, two years ago, supporters of the Bascom Center for Fine Arts in Highlands, North Carolina, decided that the main entrance to their new complex should be a covered wooden bridge. This is in keeping with the architecture of the Bascom, which used two ancient giant barns as its heart, one on the site and the other taken apart and brought to the site.
There is one family left in the United States who know how to build and assemble a covered wooden bridge. For those who’ve never seen the architecture of such a bridge, they use no nails or steel. They are put together entirely with two-inch wooden pegs. And as long as the roof is kept in good repair, the wooden floor of the bridge will outlast an exposed bridge deck of concrete or asphalt.
The way that such a bridge is put in place is as unique as its architecture. The bridge is constructed on one side of the stream. Wooden rails with temporary supports are put in place in the stream. Then the bridge is dragged across those rails into position by a team of oxen who walk around a stanchion in the ground. That in turn is connected to a block and tackle like those you see in old time sailing movies. The block and tackle have a high ratio, so as the oxen walk several feet, the bridge moves a couple inches.
That ratio allows two oxen, or the brace of horses which replaced them from time to time, to pull the weight of the bridge. And as they did that, the staff of the bridge wright took out the wooden rollers under the bridge from their position at the trailing edge, to the leading edge.
It was a truly amazing event, to watch people using ancient materials and techniques to build an architecturally sound bridge, that will last and serve far beyond the lifetime of me or any of my children. This magnificent structure is renamed as the Will Henry Stevens Bridge in honor of that artist, and the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts. It was donated by Dorothy and Jimmy Coleman and Dian and Tom Winingder.
All of this is relevant to the latest project I have taken on. It is a ten article series on the common-sense meaning of the US Constitution. Its general title is, “American Government: The Owners Manual.” Beyond the introductory article, each will focus on specific aspects of the Constitution.
What does an ancient bridge have to do with the document written on parchment in Philadelphia in 1787? Both have sound design, based on centuries of experience. Both have current use today, and can continue to serve for centuries to come. But both have to be understood, and preserved with care, to continue to serve.
There is one main difference between that bridge and that document. The bridge design has to remain what it was at the beginning. The design of the document can be changed, because the Constitution has an amendment clause. But that clause, itself, is part of its architecture. That clause, therefore, must be preserved.
A brace of oxen and tons of ancient wood, moving into place inch by inch, teaches lessons about substance and reality. To search for stories on this event, search the internet for “bridge pull” and “oxen” and “Bascom.” Enjoy.
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About the Author: John Armor has spent almost 40 years working with all branches of the federal government, plus state and local officials. He lives and works on a mountaintop in Highlands, NC. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
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I’ve been across your bridge there in New Brunswick.
The Graton family is a national treasure and they live right near me in NH. If some trees were cut, I’d be able to look out my office window and see a wonderful covered bridge that they built to replace one that burned. It is known as the Smith Millennial Bridge and it is over the Baker River in Plymouth, NH. Probably could find it by Googling.
yup... that one there is a big-un all right!!!
I think that’s the only one I’ve ever driven across that’s paved.
The blocks and tackle they used were the same as I remember from the US Frigate Constellation.
John / Billybob
All engineering feats performed before the age of the internal combustion engine are cool. Common use of block and tackle rigging was capable of lifting sailing ships out of the water, from their docking, and rolling them on their sides - on dry ground - for easier scraping of barnacles and re-plating with copper - titanic feats by any standards of the time and, until the tracked vehicles that transported the Apollo rockets, probably any other.
Treasure that memory and tell it to your grandkids. Cool is cool no matter what age...
The Bridges of Madison County...
http://www.madisoncounty.com/bridge.html
Looking forward to your work, John. Thanks.
Gee, I didn't realize you were from these parts... (I'm over the other side of the City of Evil, out 79E by Slaterville).
Howdy neighbor!
The sign on it says that the speed limit is no faster than a walk, which would be about five miles per hour. I guess that made sense when horses were the main means of locomotion.
Just an off the wall thought on my part, but in light of the Minnesota bridge collapse and the poor state of much of our infrastructure, especially in northern states that use salt on the roadways in winter, why not design new ones to be covered & retrofit existing ones?.
Of course, the roofs would have to be built in place, pulling becomes somewhat impractical when you're talking about something like the Lake Erie bridge between Cleveland and Ontario, (actually proposed in 1965 by Governor James A. Rhodes).
thanks Congressman Billybob that was a neat story....and very generous of the sponsors to pick up the tab on the project....I know....about 4 years ago I was slightly involved in a grist mill project...the new water wheel cost a cool $158,000! ....we had to bring in a team of mill wrights from upstate New York to do the job....in America you can still get “old time” work done, but it really costs.
howdy... yup, near Watkins
I pulled my uncle's finger, once...
That is a great metaphor.
I have 38+ acres on the Missisquoi River, “A half mile South of the old covered bridge (There used to be two of them but the other one washed away in the flood of ‘27).”
Sidebar: Greetings Captain. It is an amazingly small world.
We met last year at the boat store your wife was working at while you made repairs to your boat in PT. I had recently undergone heart surgery and was there to buy stuff for our month boating trip into the San Juan Islands.
We took your brides advice and purchased a coffee press, though we have not been required to live off of coffee for a couple of weeks while limping to shore, like you folks did. ;>)
Somehow I knew that you folks were conservatives when we met you. You were both friendly and very nice people. I loved hearing of your sailing adventures from your wife. I wish you and your bride well in your continued adventures. I don’t remember exactly what you said, but at that moment, it was something that made me want to dream even more of a life with such freedom...thank you. Funny how a short chat with a stranger can make a difference in how one might look at things.
While I still love my boat and I love every moment that I can be on the water, it’s a gas hog, it fast, it’s nice, but it really sucks up the gas..... I sure wish it had a sail nowadays. ;>)
God bless and good health to the both of you......
ps: I still have my Harley’s. ;>)
I enjoyed your approach, very much.
Thank you for your post.
A small world indeed. It never ceases to amaze me.
Fair winds and following seas Captain.
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