Covered Bridge, Unionville, Conn. 73.

Covered Bridge, Unionville, Conn. 73.

View of a long covered bridge spanning a river, with factories partially visible in the background. This image is part of a series made by one of the three Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company photographers assigned to cover New England or upstate New York. The quest for images that would be saleable as postcards resulted in the documentation of small towns and small town life at the turn of the 20th century. As the photos were shot, the glass plates were sent back to Belfast, Maine, and processed into postcards at the printing plant on High Street. Known as the South Main Street Bridge, this bridge crossed the Farmington River. The horizontal opening indicates pedestrian walkways, in this case, on either side of the center. The bridge's structure is a Howe Truss design, ideal for longer spans.