With some of the oldest towns and settlements in the United States, traveling in New England is a bit like time travel. A drive down one country road takes you to a town built by the whaling industry, while another winding stretch of macadam leads to a simple, white-washed wooden church. One can almost hear the sermon of an earnest Puritan minister.
Preserving the Past
New England, like the rest of the world, has all the modern amenities: chain stores, highways, fast food restaurants. But somehow modernity seems to recede there while the past becomes more immediate and accessible. On a driving trip through New England, I was struck by how much of its history the region has managed to preserve, even though much of the world seems content to bulldoze and build over anything with even a bit of history.
In Vermont, I wanted to find an image that represented the state and its picturesque, colonial era towns. Its covered bridges, something I have not seen anywhere else in the world, struck me as uniquely quaint and are among my favorite sites in the state. The famous Quechee Covered Bridge, which provides a quietly grand entrance to the sleepy hamlet of Quechee, made one of my favorite New England shots.
Postcard Perfect
You must wonder if the people who planned and built the bridge did so with photographers or painters in mind. Below, the Ottauquechee River spills over boulders before tumbling down into an expansive gorge. It is a scene that practically composes itself. From either side of the bridge, the view is incredible.
The original Quechee bridge was built in 1970 and was nearly destroyed in 2011 by Hurricane Irene. The current bridge is an almost identical replacement which was completed in 2012. If the timbers were a bit more time-worn, it would be a thoroughly convincing replica. Stepping inside is a bit like crossing a threshold into a realm where the nineteenth century still exists somehow.
A Bit of History
I didn’t choose a covered bridge to represent Vermont by chance. With more than one hundred remaining covered bridges, Vermont has the highest concentration per square mile of all fifty US states. Though they exist in other parts of the world, they are, perhaps, uniquely associated with rural America, where thousands of them once existed. Now they serve as relics as much as infrastructure, equal parts beautiful and functional.
Nearby, a former mill once powered by the Ottauquechee River is now home to a glassblowing studio and restaurant. All of it, the mill, the river, the gorge, and of course the bridge, provided one of those rare travel days when I was less interested in making photos and more interested in simply looking.
