Skip to main content

Bath-Haverhill Covered Bridge - Woodsville, New Hampshire

Image
By


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)
Labels:
Location: 60 Woodsville Rd, Bath, NH 03740, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more