A Vermont Covered Bridge in Massachusetts?

The Taft Covered Bridge was built in the late 1800s in Dummerston Vermont. In 1952 it was dismantled and shipped to Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. At this time it was called the Dummerston Covered Bridge. If you search for the Dummerston Covered Bridge you may find this one in Massachusetts or the West Dummerston Covered Bridge in Vermont.

I have never found out why it was moved but I assume it was set to be replaced by a newer bridge. The details are very limited on the Taft and it may have broke in two during a flood in 1869 and replaced in 1874. Either way, this historical treasure (as all covered bridges are) is now preserved among the many historical buildings of Sturbridge Village Massachusetts.

What is the best time to photograph the Dummerston covered bridge?

Old covered bridge in Sturbridge Village Massachusetts, view in my gallery

*The first thing to note is you have to pay to get in, (check prices online)

I photographed the Taft Bridge, seen above, which is also called the Dummerston BBridge on a cloudy afternoon. We stopped at OSV on October 14^th and most people might not have bothered to go in. The reason? As I said, it was an overcast day and it looked to rain at any time.

But as I tell everybody, a cloudy day is a day when the colors are saturated and you can photograph all through the day and unlike a bright sunny day when you’re limited to your “best” shots at Dawn and dusk.

If you have a photography group and are willing to pay the tour fee, they will open the gates for you at 8 AM. This way you would have the run of the entire village with no other people in your shots. I would say if you got there as the gates open (paying the normal fee) you probably would still have the village to yourself with a minimum of people.

If you wait until late afternoon you’ll have the option of having really good light but also you’ll have lots of people as well.

The secret covered bridge that’s not a covered bridge!

I discovered this “covered bridge” during a boat ride inside Sturbridge Village. The pond ride is only a few extra dollars (on top of the entrance fee) and yields what I think is the best view of what appears to be a covered bridge extending across the pond.

covered bridge in Sturbridge — Covered bridge in Sturbridge Massachusetts

I checked into it and it appears this is not a covered bridge at all, but its really the old main entrance to Sturbridge village. The owner covered the bridge to look like a vintage covered bridge and today it is no longer used. But it provides a wonderful covered bridge reflection during the late autumn.

As you can see from this picture it is surrounded both on the near side and the far side by multitudes of colorful trees which give wonderful reflections of the fall colors. On a cloudy day like this one, you will want to only focus on the bridge and keep the gray sky to a minimum in your pictures.

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(*Note) You can also find this “covered bridge” by checking the back roads near OSV and there are trails where you can see it from different angles. There is a park nearby and that will allow you to walk the trails over to this bridge and you can see the waterfall that lies below the “covered bridge”.

Jeff Foliage Folger

Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage

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