A Step Back in Time

Dear Diary,

Our heatwave continues.  Although summer doesn't officially start until Thursday, it felt like it was here the last few days, hot and humid.  I took the opportunity to visit a little bit of Maine history that I hadn't seen before, the Hemlock Covered Bridge in East Fryeburg.  It was built in 1857 and is still functioning.  It is a 109 foot Paddleford truss strengthened with laminated wooden arches. It was built on granite abutments since it was located in a floodplain. The bridge was reinforced to carry local traffic in 1988. Hemlock Bridge was designated as a Maine Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2002.

Maine only has 9 covered bridges left and only 6 are still able to take traffic crossing.  I have to admit, I just love these old bridges and this one is located in an out of the way place so I had the sense of stepping back in time.  Miles of dirt roads lead up to it and I counted only 3 cars while I was there.  I saw a muskrat or beaver taking a leisurely swim in the river but he was too far away for me to photograph.  I did also find an interesting old cemetery along the way so I will go back for another dose of history very soon!

I've added a couple of extra's of the bridge.