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When John Blank's father bought the building in 1922, Route 7 was a dirt road and the little two story building was a general store and Post Office. The store was located on the ground floor and the family quarters above. In the almost eighty years since then the building has grown and there is not much trace of the country store in the large, sophisticated restaurant that is the Bull's Bridge Inn today.

History takes us back a good deal further than 1922, however. According to records, an inn was built at the crossing over the Housatonic River by Jacob and Mary Bull, who were married in 1762. They ran the inn successfully, although Mary was somewhat pressed for time having been "blessed with twenty children". Jacob was a generous man and a friendly host, and is said to have served a fine meal and plenty of spirits, never turning away a weary traveler for lack of money.

The history also notes that in 1781 George Washington moved through the region on his way to Newport, R.I. to confer with the French. Late Friday, March 2, he was in Dover, stopping for the night at the Morehouse Tavern, but Saturday saw the warrior up early and making his way along what is today know as Route 55, toward the bridge that Jacob Bull kept across the Housatonic River in Kent. There was a good ford at that point during much of the year, but in March the river must have been running full with spring runoff, and in 1781 the Bull family was rebuilding the span. Mr. Fales, writer for the "Arsenal of the Revolution", tells the following story:

" By one account, the timbers were in but the flooring not ready yet. And so a plank or two were thrown down and Mr. Bull is said to have asked George Washington to dismount and - for safety reasons - walk across while someone led his horse. No one knows what happened, but there was a scramble, shouts and a splash, and suddenly there was a horse in the water. Another account has the general's horse twisting an ankle between the planks and falling into the river."

Mr. Fales reports it is unknown whether it was Washington's horse or a companion's, but he points to an item in Washingtons's expense account, " Getting a horse out of Bull's Falls, $215." , as evidence that it probably concerned Washington's own horse.

By the 1930's the former general store and Post Office had become the Bull's Bridge Inn, with lodging, food and drinks as it was when Jacob Bull ran it during the Revolution.

Today, Bull's Bridge is one of only two covered bridges in Connecticut that are open to automobile traffic. Bull's Bridge Gorge, spanned by the bridge, is just that - gorgeous! The steep and narrow gorge was dammed years ago for its hydo-electric power potential, but that never took away from the beauty of the spot where the Ten Mile River races in from New York and proceeds downward to churn the waters of the Housatonic. The bridge adds rustic beauty to the spot as it spans the precipitous heights above the water.

There is an overlook with benches on the west side of the bridge. There are also trails along the river, some of which lead safely down the rocks to the water. Take the safest one and be sure to wear sensible shoes. One can hike farther to the south along a nice, level portion of the Appalachian Trail to a modern bridge at the confluence of the Housatonic and Ten Mile Rivers. You will find plenty of spots with flat, rock outcroppings where you can dip your feet.

Hardly a day goes by without someone remarking how genteel Kent is. After all, it's not every Connecticut town that can boast of such attractions. There are ten art galleries and eight antique shops, three unique and prestigious private schools, charming restaurants and shops, five bed & breakfast establishments, and three state parks with a multitude of recreational opportunties.