Nearest city Littleton, Maine Architectural style Howe Truss System Address Littleton, ME 04730, USA Area 1,200 m² Added to NRHP 16 February 1970 | Built 1911 NRHP Reference # 70000039 Opened 1911 Body of water Meduxnekeag River | |
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Similar Clair–Fort Kent Bridge, Florenceville Bridge, Edmundston–Madawaska Bridge, Saint John Harbour Bridge, Fort Kent | ||
Watson Settlement Bridge is a historic covered bridge in eastern Littleton, Maine, United States. Built in 1911, it is one of the youngest of Maine's few surviving covered bridges. It formerly carried Framingham Road over the Meduxnekeag River, but is now closed to traffic, the road passing over a modern bridge to its south. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
Description and history
The Watson Settlement Bridge is located in southeastern Littleton, a rural community in southern Aroostook County. The Meduxnekeag River flows north from Houlton into southeastern Littleton before turning east and crossing the international border into New Brunswick, Canada. Framingham Road, which the bridge formerly carried, crosses just south of the bridge on a modern structure. The covered bridge is about 150 feet (46 m) long, with two spans resting on stone abutments and a central pier. The bases of these structures are rubblestone that has been reinforced with concrete, with a 5-foot (1.5 m) top section that is contained within a timber cribwork. The structure is about 20 feet (6.1 m) wide and a similar height, with an internal clearance height of 13 feet 2 inches (4.01 m) and width of 18 feet (5.5 m). The support system for the two spans are Howe trusses. The exterior of the bridge is finished in vertical siding, and the roof is shingled.
The bridge appears to be the first built at this location, no bridges having been marked on earlier maps of the area. It was built in 1911, and was attended by legal action between the county and the town over the cost of building its approaches, which was ultimately borne by the town. The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic with the construction of the adjacent bridge in 1984.