Cooley Covered Bridge, covered bridge in Pittsford, Vermont

The Cooley Covered Bridge carries Elm Street across Furnace Brook about a mile south of Pittsford village. It is a single-span Town lattice truss 50.5 feet (15.4 m) long, with a total structure length of 66 feet (20 m) because the portals overhang each end by 8 feet (2.4 m). The bridge is 18.5 feet (5.6 m) wide, with a 15-foot (4.6 m) one-lane roadway, a slate roof, and vertical board siding that wraps around the portal ends and partly inside.

Built in 1849 by Nicholas M. Powers, who was born on a farm not far from the site, the bridge is one of only four whose construction is known to have been executed or overseen by him. Powers is regarded as Vermont's best-known builder of covered bridges. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and is one of four surviving 19th-century covered bridges in Pittsford.

The bridge carries Elm Street, a road named for the elms that once lined it, and remains an active one-lane crossing rather than a museum piece. Its name honours the Cooley family, early settlers of Pittsford, and the structure is one of four 19th-century covered bridges still standing in the town.

The bridge carries Elm Street about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Pittsford village, with a single 15-foot (4.6 m) roadway lane between 18.5-foot (5.6 m) walls. Vehicles and pedestrians share that one lane, so check for oncoming traffic before entering. The portal ends overhang the truss by 8 feet (2.4 m) at each end, and the interior is narrow with limited headroom.

The 8-foot (2.4 m) overhangs at each portal make the structure 66 feet (20 m) long even though the Town lattice truss spans only 50.5 feet (15.4 m) across Furnace Brook. Look for the doubled timbers and added iron bracing on the underside, repairs that keep the 1849 truss carrying Elm Street traffic.