West Cornwall Covered Bridge, Cornwall

West Cornwall Covered Bridge, Cornwall – Doug Kerr

Cornwall, in Litchfield County, is located on the Housatonic River in northwestern Connecticut and contains a portion of Mohawk State Forest. Formerly a part of Lebanon, the town was incorporated in May of 1740. The early economy was based on farming, but iron furnaces, including two blast furnaces, gained importance in the nineteenth century, along with the supporting charcoal making industries. Famous as the site of the Foreign Mission School and the Cream Hill Agricultural School, Cornwall has also been called the “Home of the Covered Bridge,” in reference to the 1864 West Cornwall Covered Bridge that is still in service today. One of Connecticut’s smallest towns, Cornwall has remained a rural community.

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Interior West Cornwall Covered Bridge

West Cornwall Covered Bridge: An Icon of New England Craftsmanship

The West Cornwall Covered Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic places and has been a symbol of the area's rural heritage for almost 150 years. …[more]

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Websites

Cornwall Historical Society. “Foreign Mission School 1817-1826 - Online Exhibit,” 2017.
Cornwall Historical Society. “Historic Dairy Barns and Related Sites,” 2016.
Cornwall Historical Society. “Out of the Woods: The Story of Cornwall’s Forests - Online Exhibit,” 2017. Link.

Places

“Cornwall Historical Society,” 2012. Link.
Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. “Mohawk Mountain State Forest/State Park,” 2012. Link.

Documents

Connecticut State Library Digital Collections. “Cornwall - WPA Architectural Survey,” 2013. Link.
“Cornwall Collection.” Connecticut Digital Archive, n.d. Link.

Books

Starr, Edward. A History of Cornwall, Connecticut, a Typical New England Town. New Haven,  CT: Tuttle  Morehouse & Taylor, 1926.
Gordon, Robert. A Landscape Transformed: The Ironmaking District of Salisbury, Connecticut. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Pawloski, John. Connecticut Mining. Charleston,  SC: Arcadia, 2006.
Cornwall Historical Society, and Jeremy Brecher. Cornwall in Pictures: A Visual Reminiscence, 1868-1941. Cornwall,  CT: Cornwall Historical Society, 2001.
Kirby, Ed. Echoes of Iron in Connecticut’s Northwest Corner: With a Field Guide to the Iron Heritage Trail. Sharon,  CT: Sharon Historical Society, 1998.
Gold, Theodore. Historical Records of the Town of Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut. Hartford: Press of the Case  Lockwood & Brainard Company, 1877. Link.
J.W. Lewis & Company. History of Litchfield County, Connecticut, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of the Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia, PA: J.W. Lewis & Company, 1881. Link.
Gannett, Michael. The Distribution of the Common Land of Cornwall, Connecticut, 1733-1887. Cornwall,  CT: Cornwall Historical Society, 1990.
Dudley, Gary. The Legend of Dudleytown: Solving Legends Through Genealogical and Historical Research. Bowie,  MD: Heritage Books, 2001.