Skip to main content

Pierce Bridge - Bethlehem, New Hampshire

 


Built by the American Bridge Company in 1928 as a means to usher traffic on the Teddy Roosevelt Trail, and later US 302, the Pierce Bridge in Bethlehem, New Hampshire is a historic steel truss bridge that spans across the Ammonoosuc River. After devastating floods in 1927, new bridges needed to be quickly constructed to get travelers to the White Mountains, which was as much as a tourist destination then as it is today. One of the bridges constructed was the Pierce Bridge, a 140 foot long bridge in the design of high truss bridges with its vertical members in compression and diagonal beams in tension. It was said that this style of bridge was easy to construct and had been proven to be strong and sturdy.

After the Pierce Bridge was constructed, it became a destination for travelers, for people who wanted to fish the Ammoonoosuc River for its trout and for Civilian Conversation Corps (CCC) workers who worked in the area during the Great Depression. For a few years, there was a CCC camp known as Gale River Camp No. 2118 that was located near the Pierce Bridge starting in 1933. The CCC workers that worked around Pierce Bridge built bridges along the Ammonoosuc and Zealand Rivers, truck trails and also hiking trails up Mount Washington. So it can be said that the Pierce Bridge played a small, yet significant role in American history and progress.

By the time 1983 rolled around, the Pierce Bridge was bypassed by a new bridge on US 302 to help meet modern traffic demands. However, the old Pierce Bridge remains next to the new bridge. It is no longer open for vehicular traffic, but pedestrians are welcome to explore the old bridge and view the surroundings.











How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Bridgehunter.com - Pierce Bridge
North Country Scenic Byways - River Heritage Trail
Bethlehem Heritage Society - CCC Camp #2118 at Pierce Bridge
Wanderlust Family Adventure - Pierce Bridge Historic Marker – Bethlehem, New Hampshire
BustedOarLock.com - Ammonoosuc River New Hampshire Flows, Fishing and Paddling
Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University - Theodore Roosevelt International Highway

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced...