[Illustration: There were many different types of covered bridges. This one was built with two lanes, although speeding traffic was much less of a problem in its day than now.] The covered bridges cost from $300 to $6,500. They were built by towns, individuals and companies. Often a lottery provided the cost of construction. As on the old turnpikes, toll was charged on many of the bridges. The rate for a foot passenger was two cents; for a cow, two cents; one sheep, one-half cent; a horse, four cents; horse and rider, six cents; cart, sleigh, sled, or wagon and one horse, ten cents; two horses, thirteen cents; wood per cord, fifteen cents; all other loads with one horse, ten cents. Most of the private companies operating covered bridges fared exceedingly well. Some bridges paid as high as 18 to 20 per cent a year. The exaction of tolls created bitter opposition in many communities and became an issue in politics. The Lyman covered bridge between Hartford, Vermont, and Lebanon, New Hampshire, completed in 1804, was known as the “Inter-State Hold-Up” because the tolls were so exorbitant. Even ministers were forced to pay to cross the bridge. So deep-seated was the unrest over toll charges that in many instances the tolls were withdrawn. The first free covered bridge across the Connecticut River, where the earliest of the bridges was built, was opened to the public in 1859. This bridge, which spanned the river between Norwich, Vermont, and Hanover, New Hampshire, was built by the two towns at a cost of $6,500. It was 400 feet long and stood 40 feet at low water. The classic covered bridge story and the perennial delight of all writers on the subject deals with a farmer who drove up to a long bridge with a load of hay on the way to market. He stopped at the entrance and squinted down the dark tunnel. Then he said: “I can git through this end all right, but there ain’t room to squeeze through that little hole at the other end.” With this remark he turned his team and drove back home, his hay unsold. Another anecdote is connected with the “Walk Your Horses” sign at the entrance of the Hartford covered bridge. A woman was summoned to court for disobeying this injunction. She hired a clever lawyer and contested the case. When it was called in court the lawyer said: “Your Honor, the law reads that a fine be imposed on any man who drives a horse across the bridge faster than a walk. I move that this case be thrown out. My client is a woman and she was driving a mare.” The case was dismissed. The covered bridge served purposes for which it was not originally intended. On wet nights it became a sort of informal community center. Preachers, on occasion, used it for camp meetings. The local militia drilled in it. Once a school teacher, whose little red schoolhouse burned down, held some of her classes under its shingled roof.