Every Monday we share a vintage image on the Essex on Lake Champlain Facebook page and invite our viewers to play some Vintage Essex Trivia. Have you ever seen the old postcard we’re featuring above?
Do you recognize the location in the photo — is that covered bridge or any of the buildings in the photo familiar to you? The postcard tells us that this photo was taken in Whallonsburg, NY as part of a”Westview” Series.
Is the covered bridge still there? I don’t believe it is, but I have to admit I haven’t traveled all the roads around Whallonsburg. I took a quick look at a current map and it appears that there are two bridges over the Boquet River close to the center of Whallonsburg but neither is covered. Is there another I’m missing that is?
What do you know about the bridge? Why was it removed (or destroyed by an act of nature) and when? Or am I incorrect and this covered bridge still exists? Please share what you know in the comments below!
When do you think this photo was taken? The back of the postcard is stamped and marked by the post office as sent out during September 1909, which dates the photo to that year or prior.
Share Your Essex Artifacts
If you want to share your old photos of Essex (or brochures; postcards; menus; tickets; any artifact) on the blog please email us at editor [AT] essexonlakechamplain [DOT] com.
I am the owner of the postcard shown above. The location of the bridge is thought to have been on the Whallons Bay Road crossing of Boquet River. As you surmise from the image, it probably survived into the 1900s. Its loss date is not recorded in records seen to date.