Skip to main content

Bath-Haverhill Covered Bridge - Woodsville, New Hampshire


The Bath-Haverhill Covered Bridge (also known as the Haverhill-Bath Covered Bridge) over the Ammonoosuc River in Woodsville, New Hampshire is one of the Granite State's oldest existing covered bridges. Built using a Town lattice truss design, the covered bridge is 256 feet long and has two spans of 105 feet and 121 feet in length, along with a pedestrian walkway on the upstream side of the bridge. It is located parallel to a modern crossing of the river located on NH 135.

In March of 1827, the voters of Bath, New Hampshire appointed a committee to hold discussions with the selectmen of the neighboring town of Haverhill, New Hampshire regarding the site of a bridge between the two towns. Then, in September of 1828, the town of Bath had set aside $300 to purchase stone and timber for a covered bridge to be built between the two towns over the Ammonoosuc River. In March 1829, Ariel Miner was given the position of superintendent, but upon his request in June of that year he was released from this position and replaced by Moses Abbott and Leonard Walker. The covered bridge was completed later in the year at a cost of $2,400 between the two towns and opened to the traffic of the day, namely pedestrians and horses or oxen carrying carts and carriages.

The Bath-Haverhill Covered Bridge has survived many mishaps over the years to become one of the oldest covered bridges in New Hampshire and the United States of America. In 1927, a large tree trunk pierced the side lattice of the bridge and during that same flood, a barn floating down the river jammed against the side of the bridge. As luck would have it, the bridge withstood the damage. But decades of wear and tear took its toll on the bridge. In 1973, the bridge was repaired at a cost of $38,710. Then, ice damaged the structure in the winter of 1980 and the bridge was repaired by the state in March of 1981 at a cost of $8,000. The covered bridge was the subject of unthinkable mischievousness, as someone unsuccessfully attempted an act of arson to burn the bridge on the night of September 11, 1983. As a result, the citizens of Bath and Haverhill mounted a fund drive to repair the bridge. The bridge was bypassed for vehicle traffic in 1999 but is open to pedestrians. Before being bypassed the bridge carried traffic for a period of 170 years, which is a lot for a little covered bridge. The bridge itself is across the street in a little cul-de-sac, and was rehabilitated in 2008, now serving just foot traffic. The bridge was bypassed for vehicle traffic in 1999 but is open to pedestrians. The Bath-Haverhill Covered Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as well, owing to its historic nature. I've managed to visited the Bath-Haverhill Covered Bridge on a few occasions over the years, enjoying the nearby scenery and the quiet, still nature of this wonderful treasure.


Looking into the portal of the covered bridge. It is no longer open to vehicles, but it is perfect to walk around and explore.


There is a dam just upstream of the covered bridge on the Ammonoosuc River.




Woodsville can be seen behind the covered bridge as well.

 

I also happened to visit the bridge in 2005, which was before the covered bridge was rehabilitated to its current state.





How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
The History of Bath - Covered Bridges
New Hampshire Bridges - Bath-Haverhill Bridge
NHTourGuide.com - Haverhill-Bath Covered Bridge NH
Bridgehunter.com - Bath/Haverhill Covered Bridge 29-05-04
Wanderlust Family Adventure - Haverhill – Bath Covered Bridge (Woodsville, New Hampshire)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tulare Lake returns

During the winter of 2023 California experienced one of the wettest seasons in recent decades.  Enough snow and water were deposited into the Sierra Nevada Mountains that the runoff was enough to partially reform Tulare Lake within San Joaquin Valley.  Tulare Lake was once the largest lake west of the Mississippi River by surface area.  Tulare Lake has been largely dried for the past century due to irrigation divisions and upstream impoundments.  This blog will examine the history of Tulare Lake and its recent return.  Pictured as the blog cover is Tulare Lake from 19th Avenue in Kings County during early May 2023.  Tulare Lake can be seen near its maximum extent below on the 1876 P.Y. Baker Map of Tulare County .   Part 1; the history of Tulare Lake Tulare Lake is the largest remnant of Lake Corcoran.  Lake Corcoran once covered much of the entire Central Valley due to being it being located at a in natural low point from where mountain run-off would accumulate.  Lake Corcoran is thou

Former US Route 101 through Sargent

  Sargent is a ghost town and siding of the Southern Pacific Railroad located in southern Santa Clara County.  The original alignment of US Route 101 was aligned through Sargent via what is now known as Old Monterey Road.  Sargent was bypassed gradually due to shifts of the alignment of US Route 101 which occurred during 1941 and 1950.  Pictured as the blog cover is a view on Old Monterey Road which is now no longer accessible to the general public.  Below is a scan of the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Santa Clara County which depicts the original alignment US Route 101 through Sargent.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 in Sargent Sargent lies on land which was once part of Rancho Juristac.  During 1856 James P. Sargent purchased Rancho Juristac and plotted what was known as Sargent Ranch.  By 1869 the Southern Pacific Railroad coast line reached the relocated town site of Gilroy.  The Southern Pacific Railroad coast line would be constructed through Chittenden Pass by 1871 whic

California State Route 60/Former US Route 60/70 through the Moreno Valley Badlands west to Riverside

This past month I drove California State Route 60 through the Moreno Valley Badlands westward towards the City of Riverside.  CA 60 through the Moreno Valley Badlands was once part of the corridors of US Route 60 and US Route 70. The present route of CA 60 is a 70 mile (76 counting multiplex) slice of former US 60 between downtown Los Angeles east to I-10 near Beaumont.  The vast majority of CA 60 aside from a small section in the Moreno Valley Badlands is presently a freeway grade. For me CA 60 holds some personal history as it was the route I used most frequently accessing work sites in the Inland Empire circa 2011-2013.  Despite what many others probably would say I always really enjoyed the Moreno Valley Badlands portion of CA 60.  Considering I frequently worked on US 60 through Arizona and New Mexico the route holds even more appeal.  I even have a CA 60 shield hanging up in my garage. Part 1; History of Roadways in the Moreno Valley Badlands CA 60 between B