Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1907-05-24
BELLOWS FALLS NEWS
Wooden Bridge at Cold River Burned.

Wooden Bridge at Cold River Burned.
The long wooden bridge across Cold
River, a mile south of here in Walpole,
was destroyed by fire a little after mid
night Saturday, the cause being
clearly incendiarism. but no clue has been
obtained to the perpetrators. 1t was
within an hour of just a week after the
incendiary fire that destroyed the hotel
in the village of Drewsville, about two
miles distant but there are no circum-
stances to connect the tow The town of
Walpole is now arranging to put on a
steel structure but it will be some
weeks before it can be used Teams are
necessitated either TO go around via
Drewsville, or via the Westminster bridge
over the Connecticut, making a great in
convenience.
The destruction of this bridge recalls
the terrible accident by flood which &C.
CURED there at one time, which some of
those still living remember. During a
great flood that occurred in the panic
year, March IA, 1897, both the Connecti-
cut and Cold rivers were swollen and
filled with floating ice, the weather hav-
ing been warm for a week preceding
The regular mail stage which then ran
three times week between Boston and
Hanover, by way of Bellows Falls, left
Walpoe in the morning. The drivers
name was William Simonds, and he had
four passengers, three ladies and a man
named Swain who was acting as a mes
senger conveying $4,000 in currency from
Boston to the old state bank here which
was then doing business under the name
of the Bank of Bellows Falls. This was
the original method of transferring funds
from one bank to another.
When the bridge across Cold river was
reached, located then about 80 rods below
where the one was destroyed Sunday
morning and about 4 rods above the
present railroad bridge, it was found the
water and ice in the Connecticut had
backed up so much as to raise the bridge
somewhat from its foundations. but the
driver determined to hazard the expert
ment of crossing He had four horses
and just as his leaders reached this side
of the river, and were already upon the
bank, the bridge hoated away taking the
coach and all its occupants with it. This
drew the horses already across back into
the stream
Mr. Swain chung tenaciously to his tin
trunk containing his treasure and also
to one of the ladies' until she was crushed
by the ice when he made rapidly for the
west bank of the Connecticut as best he
could on the floating cakes of Ice He
reached the Vermont side in safety and
delivered his trunk to the bank officials.
The ladies' and the team were lost but
when assistance arrived from yYalpole
the driver was found clinging to the
bushes near the mouth of Cold river and
was rescued, The body of one woman
was found at the time, but the other two
were not recovered until the following
summer One was found opposite the
Copley Amory place, and the other near
Doggy meadow some distance south. One
woman's name was Mrs. Durham and
one Mrs Chesley with a sister. The
coach and three of the horses were lost
and the town Of Walpole in consequence
of the disaster suffered heavy damages.
The date for the annual inspection of
company q, V. n. G., has been set for
June A.
Mr.. and Mrs, Albert A. Bowen of West
NewDury are spending the week with
friends in Bellows Falls.
Bellows Fails high school was not rep
resented at Claremont Saturday ar tho
annual meet of the Green Mountain In
terscholastic Athletic association.