James Otis Follett
James Otis Follett (May 12, 1842 – February 23, 1911) was a farmer, stonemason, and builder of bridges from Townshend, Vermont. He has been described as "an intuitive engineer, a farmer and mason."[1]
He was born in May 1842 in Jamaica, Vermont.[2][3] He was educated at Yale University,[4] and served in Company D of the 16th Vermont Volunteers during the American Civil War, reaching the rank of corporal.[2]
During the 1890s and 1900s, Follett built as many as 40 bridges and culverts; 11 are known to survive.[4][5][6] An account of Follett's work in the Bennington Banner in 1977 called his bridges "engineering marvels and parts of the scenic landscape of the region" and noted:
"Follett excelled in hand-crafted stone masonry – now practically a lost art. The bridges have no arch supports and contain little or no mortar. They are held together by the critical placement of a 'keystone', plus the force of the weight of the materials above the arch."[7]
Follett was married to Clara E. Kimball in 1864 and died in February 1911 in Townshend, Vermont, as the result of acute dilation of the heart.[8]
A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[9]
In 2005, he was the subject of a theater program the Hooker-Dunham Theater in Brattleboro, Vermont, titled, "Vaulting Achievement - The Remarkable Life of James Otis Follett: Soldier, Farmer and Bridge Builder," by Dan Snow.[10][11]
Works include:
- Four bridges in Follett Stone Arch Bridge Historic District (1894-1910), W of Townshend off VT 30, Townshend, Vermont, NRHP-listed[9][12]
- East Putney Brook Stone Arch Bridge (1902), spans East Putney Brook off River Rd., East Putney, Vermont, NRHP-listed[9][13][14][15][16]
- Sacketts Brook Stone Arch Bridge (1906), off U.S. 5 on Mill Rd., Putney, Vermont, NRHP-listed[9][17]
- Simpsonville Stone Arch Bridge (1909), N of Townshend on VT 35, Townshend, Vermont, NRHP-listed[9]
- West Townshend Stone Arch Bridge (c. 1910), spans Tannery Brook, West Townshend, Vermont, NRHP-listed[9]
References
- ↑ Hugh H. Henry (September 20, 1976). "East Putney Brook Stone Arch Bridge".
- 1 2 Vermont Legislative Directory. Vermont Office of Secretary of State. 1896. p. 385.
- ↑ Hugh H. Henry (September 20, 1976). "Sacketts Brook Stone Arch Bridge".
- 1 2 Dan Snow, Peter Mauss (2008). Listening to Stone. Artisan Books. pp. 95–99. ISBN 1579653715.
- ↑ Town Historical commission, reported at biggs
- ↑ Mary Smith (August 5, 1940). "Builder of Men". Daily Boston Globe. p. 10.
- ↑ "Story is told of Townshend's historic stone arch bridges". Bennington Banner (Bennington, Vermont). June 6, 1977.(available on-line at newspaperarchive.com)
- ↑ Death record for James O. Follett, born in Jamaica, Vermont. Ancestry.com. Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008 [database on-line].
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ↑ "Theater program features stone artists". Rutland Herald (VT). April 19, 2005.
- ↑ "The art of rock". Brattleboro Reformer (VT). April 21, 2005.
- ↑ "Follett Stone Arch Bridge Historic District". Vermont Heritage Network.
- ↑ "East Putney Brook Stone Arch Bridge". Connecticut River Joint Commissions.
- ↑ "Abandoned Vermont: Putney Stone Arch Bridge". Preservation in Pink. December 2, 2011.
- ↑ Donald C. Jackson (1988). Great American Bridges and Dams. John Wiley & Sons. p. 104.
- ↑ Patrick Armstrong (October 25, 2001). "Putney seeks state help for stone bridge repairs". Brattleboro Reformer (VT).
- ↑ "Sacketts Brook Stone Arch Bridge". Connecticut River Joint Commissions.
External links
- Information regarding Follett's stone bridges from the Townshend Historical Society of Vermont
- Photograph of Follett from Townsend Historical Society