Skip to main content

Columbia Covered Bridge - North Stratford, New Hampshire and Lemington, Vermont

 


The Columbia Covered Bridge is the northernmost of the covered bridges that cross the border between the states of New Hampshire and Vermont. Connecting North Stratford, New Hampshire with Lemington, Vermont over the Connecticut River, this 146 foot long Howe truss designed covered bridge is just four miles south of Colebrook, New Hampshire. The Howe truss design was introduced around 1840 with its combination of wood and iron structural members, represents the transition in construction from wood to iron bridges. The bridge can handle one lane of traffic at a time, as it is only a little over 14 feet wide.

The Columbia Covered Bridge was built in 1912 to replace an earlier bridge that had been destroyed by a fire the previous year. The current covered bridge was built by Charles Babbitt. The bridge was rehabilitated by the State of New Hampshire in 1981 at a cost of $143,000. The Columbia Covered Bridge and the Mount Orne Covered Bridge in Lancaster, New Hampshire are the only highway bridges remaining in the State of New Hampshire which are supported by Howe trusses. Both bridges were completed in successive years (1911-1912) are are also the last covered bridges built on public highways during the historic period of covered bridge construction in New Hampshire and Vermont.

I've visited the Columbia Covered Bridge on more than one occasion. It is in a quiet corner of New England, leaving plenty of time with little distraction to observe and peacefully enjoy the surroundings of the covered bridge. There is also boating and fishing access for the Connecticut River adjacent to the bridge.


East bridge portal on the New Hampshire side of the Connecticut River.

Now on the Vermont side of the covered bridge. The state line is actually on the west side of the Connecticut River, so most of the bridge is in New Hampshire.

West bridge portal. The Columbia Covered Bridge is easily accessible from VT 102. US 3 isn't that far on the other side of the river, either.

The Columbia Covered Bridge on a glorious summer afternoon.

The Connecticut River sure looks inviting here.

Inside the covered bridge.

Columbia Bridge sign.


How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Bridgehunter.com - Columbia Covered Bridge 45-05-02 / 29-04-07
New Hampshire Covered Bridges - Columbia Bridge
Northern Gateway Regional Chamber - Bridges of Coos County

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chowchilla Mountain Road to Yosemite National Park

Chowchilla Mountain Road of Mariposa County is one of the oldest roadways servicing Yosemite National Park.  As presently configured this fourteen-mile highway begins at California State Route 49 near Elliot Corner and terminates at the Wawona Road in Yosemite National Park.  Chowchilla Mountain Road was constructed as a franchise toll road over Battalion Pass circa 1869-1870.  The highway was built at behest of Galen Clark to connect the town of Mariposa to his property near the South Fork Merced River at what is now Wawona.   In late 1874 the highway along with Clark’s Station would be purchased by the Washburn Brothers.  The Washburn Brothers would continue to toll Chowchilla Mountain Road as part of their Yosemite Stage Route lines.  The highway would ultimately become a Mariposa County public highway in 1917.  Mariposa would later be more directly linked with Yosemite Valley in 1926 following the completion of the Yosemite All-Year Highwa...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge

At 1.3 kilometers (or about 0.84 miles) in length, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is one of two bridges crossing over the Halifax Harbour between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the other bridge being the A. Murray Mackay Bridge . Opened in 1955 and named after former Nova Scotia Premier and Canadian Minister of Defense for Naval Services Angus L. Macdonald, the Macdonald Bridge was the first bridge that crossed Halifax Harbour that was opened to traffic. The Macdonald Bridge was also the subject of the Big Lift, which was only the second time in history that the span of a suspension bridge were replaced while the bridge was open to traffic. Planning began in 2010 for the Big Lift, while construction took place between 2015 and 2017. Similar work occurred on the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia before the project took place on the Macdonald Bridge. At this time, much of the bridge infrastructure is new, leaving only the towers, main cables and...