Beware of the Rug: If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 576

Thursday, October 6, 2022

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 576

The Creamery Bridge, Brattleboro, Vermont

This is an unused Dexter Press, Inc. produced postcard published by Lewis R. Brown, Inc., Brattleboro, Vermont. At the lower left on the reverse is: 24674-B. No postal codes are found on the addresses for Dexter Press or Lewis R. Brown, Inc. Beginning in 1943 two digit codes began being used, by 1944 some areas were using a 3 digit code, in 1963 five digit zip codes were introduced and in 1983 the 4-plus was added, making today’s zip codes a total of nine digits. Without any postal code numbers this card can be dated most likely to before 1943. The photographer is not identified.

At one time there were a large number of these wooden covered bridges in the Brattleboro area of Vermont. The Creamery Bridge was built in 1879 out of spruce lumber is the last surviving 19^th century covered bridge here. It is 80 feet or 24 meters long and 19 feet or 5.8 meters wide. Around 1920 a 5.5 feet or 1.7 meters wide sidewalk was added on the downstream side. Looking carefully at the picture on the card it is possible to see the stone abutments that support the bridge. Construction is a Town lattice truss bridge that formerly carried Guilford Road across Whetstone Brook. Ithiel Town designed and patented the truss system used by this bridge. Guy wires add additional lateral support and are attached to the upstream side. A slate roof covers the roadway and a metal roof is over the sidewalk. The bridge was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The Creamery Bridge was closed to traffic in 2010 but remains a significant tourist attraction.

Ithiel Town (1784 – 1844) was an American architect and civil engineer. He was granted a patent for a wooden lattice truss bridge, later known as the Town bridge, in 1820. This design allowed for relatively unskilled workers to quickly build a bridge from readily available material. The lattice truss design was widely known throughout the world and made Town a wealthy man. He is said to have changed $2 per foot in royalties for his designs. The design avoided the need for the heavy piers required for bridges with stone arches. The card shows what the lattice work looks like on both the inside and outside of the bridge. Below is Town’s lattice truss patent drawing.