About
The Gold Brook Covered Bridge, also known as the Stowe Hollow Bridge or Emily's Bridge, carries Covered Bridge Road over Gold Brook in the Stowe Hollow area of Stowe. It is a single-span Howe truss bridge about 49 feet long, built in 1844, and it is open to vehicles.
History
John W. Smith built the bridge in 1844. It is the only surviving 19th century covered bridge in Stowe and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 1, 1974. The name Gold Brook likely comes from placer gold once found in the stream.
The bridge is best known as Emily's Bridge. A local legend says a young woman named Emily died at the bridge in the 1850s and that her ghost lingers there. The Vermont Covered Bridge Society says it is the only covered bridge in Vermont with supernatural associations, and it appeared in a 2018 Travel Channel episode of Most Terrifying Places in America.
Design
The Howe truss, patented in 1840, was new when Smith used it here, which makes this an early example. The design later became the standard for railroad bridges until steel trusses replaced it. Wikipedia calls Gold Brook the state's only surviving example of a timber Howe truss on a public road.
Visiting
The bridge is on Covered Bridge Road in Stowe Hollow and is open to vehicles.
Sources: Gold Brook Covered Bridge, Wikipedia, Gold Brook Covered Bridge, Vermont Covered Bridge Society
Location
Covered Bridge Road, Stowe, VermontSimilar Bridges in category
Explore More
Spade Farm Covered Bridge
Ferrisburgh, Addison County. Built c. 1850, 85 ft over a storm drainage ditch. Moved in 1958 from Old Hollow Road in North Ferrisburgh to Sam Spade's farm.
Pulp Mill Covered Bridge
Middlebury and Weybridge, Addison County. Built c. 1820, 199 ft over Otter Creek. A double-barreled, two-lane covered bridge that still carries Seymour Street traffic.
Halpin Covered Bridge
Middlebury, Addison County. Built 1850, 66 ft over the Muddy Branch of the New Haven River. At about 41 ft above the stream, it is Vermont's highest covered bridge above a stream bed.