The American Thread
"bridge"The
American Thread "bridge" that welcomed travelers
to Willimantic between 1916 and 1998
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 Most
historic bridge in WillimanticThis
bridge is one of the most historic in
Willimantic, but few know of its existence. It
is pictured here in a 1939 aerial view. The
bridge was built under electric floodlight in
1880. It is well known however to those who
worked at the American Thread Company. It was
the connection to Mill Number Four, the large
cotton mill destroyed by fire in 1995.
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 Lyman
Jordan's 1857 stone arch bridge
Lyman Jordan's 1857
stone arch bridge pictured in 1900. It is being
traversed by a horse and buggy, but the
introduction trolley cars to Willimantic in 1903
instigated a movement to build a new highway
bridge.
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Lyman Jordan's 1857
bridgeLyman
Jordan's 1857 bridge, now a decorative walkway
and part of the Windham Mills State Park, is
pictured in 1906 looking west
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Willimantic
footbridgeThis
1908 aerial view of the Willimantic footbridge
clearly shows the bend in the construction
caused by its hurried construction two years
earlier.
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Willimantic footbridgeThe
Willimantic footbridge can be seen from the
Willimantic's Union Railroad Station in 1910.
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Bridge to Mill No. 4
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Bridge over the
horseshoe bend of the Shetucket River
This bridge over the
horseshoe bend of the Shetucket River on
Bricktop Road was replaced in 1987. Note its
camelback steel truss construction, a popular
design for highway bridges before World War One.
Note the weight limitations on the sign to the
right.
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Wooden covered bridgeSouth
Windham's historic wooden covered bridge was
replaced in 1910 to accommodate growing
automobile traffic
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 South
Windham's covered bridgeThe
entrance to South Windham's covered bridge,
photographed a century ago. This was the
first bridge over the Shetucket River.
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Foundations of the
Jillson MillThe
foundations of the Jillson mill pictured shortly
before bridge construction began in early 1999.
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 Lyman Jordan's
1869 Bridge Street Bridge
The largest
stone arch bridge in Connecticut
(1869-1908), Lyman Jordan's 1869 Bridge
Street Bridge is pictured looking east down
the Willimantic River in 1908.
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 1869 stone arch
bridgeJordan's
magnificent 1869 stone arch bridge still
carries Bridge Street over the Willimantic
River. The view is looking west, and the
mills in the distance belong to the Windham
Manufacturing Company. The photograph was
taken in 1891.
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Southwest view
WillimanticThis
is a circa 1837 drawing by John Warner
Barber of the southwest view Willimantic.
The Windham Manufacturing Company's cotton
mills can be seen on the left. This wooden
bridge over the Willimantic River was
constantly being damaged by floods, and was
eventually replaced by the largest stone
arch bridge in Connecticut, built by Lyman
Jordan in 1869
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Stone arch bridge
in 1920A
trolley car crosses the stone arch bridge in
1920, revealing the need for a new highway
bridge - a bridge that would not be built until
more than 60 years after the demise of the
trolley cars.
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Location Unknown
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Bridge over the Shetucket River
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Bridge over the Shetucket River
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Lovers Lane Bridge
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