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]
- ^ Hugh H. Henry (September 20, 1976). "East Putney Brook Stone Arch Bridge".
- ^ a b Vermont Legislative Directory. Vermont Office of Secretary of State. 1896. p. 385.
James Otis Follett.
- ^ Hugh H. Henry (September 20, 1976). "Sacketts Brook Stone Arch Bridge".
- ^ a b Dan Snow, Peter Mauss (2008). Listening to Stone. Artisan Books. pp. 95–99. ISBN 978-1579653712.
- ^ Town Historical commission, reported at biggs
- ^ Mary Smith (August 5, 1940). "Builder of Men". Daily Boston Globe. p. 10. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
- ^ "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].
- ^ "Death of Deacon James O. Follett". The Vermont Phoenix. March 3, 1911. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "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.