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Sullivan
County, New Hampshire
New
Hampshire No. 18 (WGN 29-10-06)
(WGCB NH-10-06): (1869;
restored 1961) A single-span Town lattice truss with light Burr arches
81' over the Cold River. Located:
North
of Alstead, New Hampshire off SR 123A. Directions: About 2
miles north of Alstead, New Hampshire on SR 123A then left 0.1 mile left
to the bridge on east side of the road. It is braced by cables
attached to the new highway bridge that bypassed it in 1964. It is now
used for foot and snowmobile traffic only. Three bridges previously
stood on this site. They were built in 1790, 1814, and 1840 and were all
of the pole and plank type. The current bridge was of a type patented by
Sanford Granger in 1833. The patent appears to be a modification of the
Town lattice truss. Granger, owned a sawmill on Fall Mountain Brook
from 1838 until 1851. Virgin timber removed from the mountain was used
in the construction of his bridges. The current structure was built by
his son Albert S. Granger. In 1961, an estimate of $7,000 was
given to the town for the restoration of the bridge with the town paying
$2,100 and the state $4,900. However, in 1964 the town decided
to establish a sinking fund to pay for building a modern bridge which was
built downstream under the Town Bridge Aid Program and the covered bridge
was closed to vehicular traffic but retained for historic reasons. The
structure is also known as the Cold River Covered Bridge. It
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places May 17, 1973. (Sep
2004) |
