James Otis Follett
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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][9]
A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[10]
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.[11][12]
Works include:
- Four bridges in Follett Stone Arch Bridge Historic District (1894-1910), W of Townshend off VT 30, Townshend, Vermont, NRHP-listed[10][13]
- East Putney Brook Stone Arch Bridge (1902), spans East Putney Brook off River Rd., East Putney, Vermont, NRHP-listed[10][14][15][16][17]
- Sacketts Brook Stone Arch Bridge (1906), off U.S. 5 on Mill Rd., Putney, Vermont, NRHP-listed[10][18]
- Simpsonville Stone Arch Bridge (1909), N of Townshend on VT 35, Townshend, Vermont, NRHP-listed[10]
- West Townshend Stone Arch Bridge (c. 1910), spans Tannery Brook, West Townshend, Vermont, NRHP-listed[10]