The Village Bridge

By Asa

The bridge that crosses the Winooski River near the Old Round Church was very popular. It was used a lot throughout history and has changed a lot throughout history. It is known as the Old Round Church Bridge and also known as River Bridge or Village Bridge.

1750

Attempt to get funding

In 1797, The selectmen of Richmond asked for a vote for a raise of money to make roads and bridges and repair them “in spite of the obvious need, the article was voted down.” ¹ It was harder to communicate and do business across the river without a nearby bridge for the local people to use. Before they had bridges, the local people had to find shallow water and wade through it, ride their horses across the river, or take a boat.

On October 16, 1798, Joshua Chamberlin, Richmond’s town clerk, asked the state of Vermont for $1,500 to build a bridge over the Onion River (Winooski River). On October 31, 1798 the state said no. ¹

1800

1802

The town decided to build the bridge and raised the money themselves. The Round Church Bridge was built sometime between 1802 - 1805. It was a covered bridge with two lanes unlike other covered bridges that only had one. The bridge was made of wood with a roof and planks for the floor. ¹ The bridge helped farmers to get across the river and get their items to a creamery or get them on the train to be shipped even further.

February 26, 1846 the town received five dollars from A.B. Maynard, a lawyer in town, for trotting his horse across the bridge.¹ It was a fine, maybe like a speeding ticket today.

1899

“The single span bridge replaced the covered bridge in 1899 and later went out in the 1927 flood. The route for electrical lines, originating in 1903, from the power plant on the Huntington River, was shortened by going over the hill and through the upper part of the bridge on the way to the Village.” ¹

“The new bridge was a 197-foot single span steel bridge.” The strength of wreckage and water in the 1927 flood pushed the bridge and it was found in the river. This probably wiped out the power for the people who lived in the village. ²

This picture is of the 1927 flood. ³

1900

1928

After the flood, the bridge was replaced by a steel truss bridge in 1928. During most of the construction, cars had to go all the way around through Jonesville or Williston. People could still cross. They attached the water pipes to the bridge to extend town water service to the area around the round church. Theresa Stockwell (a person that was born on September 10, 1930) walked to and from school across the bridge. She did not like the bridge because it was too scary to cross. The bridge didn't have any sidewalks which meant that she had to walk in the road. You can imagine it would be quite scary if a car came, because there were steel beams and water surrounding it. For this reason, she would look for cars coming in either direction before she would cross. Then she would run as fast as she could to get across the bridge.⁴

Drawing of bridge by Asa

Today

In March 9, 2009 the VT Agency of Transportation (VTrans) gave money for the Richmond Bridge Street Bridge improvement project. They planned to start work on March 9, 2009 and closed the bridge to vehicles that day. The construction involved rebuilding the existing bridge and supports. Crews worked on weekdays during the day time. But if needed they would add night shifts to be on schedule. On July 4, 2009 they started to let traffic flow again, but they continued to work for a couple more days.⁵ After the bridge was fixed they painted it red, when it had been green.

While the bridge was being repaired, there was a small ferry for people walking or riding bikes that needed to get across the river. Forty-one residents of Richmond volunteered to help operate the ferry.⁶

The bridge is still there today and doing just fine. It is still useful and helpful for people that need to cross the river.

The sign for the ferry while the bridge was being repaired. ⁷

Bridge being repaired in 2009. ⁷

This picture is the bridge when it was being painted. ³

¹"Covered Bridges and Their Replacements.” Richmond, Vermont: a History of More than 200 Years, by Harriet Wheatley. Riggs, Richmond Historical Society, 2007, pp. 363–373.

²"High Water, Freshets, and the Flood of 1927.” Richmond, Vermont: a History of More than 200 Years, by Harriet Wheatley. Riggs, Richmond Historical Society, 2007, pp. 373-386.

³Turner, Martha. “History Space: Richmond and the Flood of 1927.” Burlington Free Press, Burlington Free Press, 4 Nov. 2017, www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2017/11/04/richmond-great-flood/107316406/.

⁴Riggs, Martha. Theresa Chrland Stockwell Interview in 2016. 2016.

⁵Vermont.gov. “Richmond Bridge To Close For Repair March 9.” Vermont.gov News Release, 2009, vermont.gov/portal/government/article.php?news=864.

⁶Polston, Pamela. “Seven Days | Vermonts Independent Voice.” Last Chance to Ride Richmond Ferry, 18 June 2009, www.sevendaysvt.com/.

⁷SevenDaysVT. “Richmond, VT Winooski River Bike Ferry.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 May 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=net6fbGjM24.

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