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Cheshire
County, New Hampshire
New Hampshire No.
4 (WGN 29-03-06) (WGCB NH-03-06):
(1800; 1862; burned 1993; restored 2001) A two-span Town lattice truss 142' 3" over the Ashuelot River. Located: On Westport Village Road near Westport,
New Hampshire. Directions: From Keene, New
Hampshire, take SR 10 south to left on Westport Village Road. The
bridge's name originates from the Slate family who lived on a farm along
the river north of the bridge. It is the third bridge at this location,
the first having been built around 1800. In 1842, William Wheelock was
halfway across the earlier bridge with a span of four oxen when the bridge
collapsed dropping them into the river. Although no one was hurt, Wheelock
hired an attorney from Keene, New Hampshire to seek damages from the town.
The second bridge was constructed in 1862. On March 8, 1993, this
bridge was destroyed by an arsonist. At the time, the town of Swanzey expressed
the intention to replace the structure with a new covered bridge.
The current Slate Covered Bridge was dedicated in 2001. The second Slate Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places November 14, 1978. |
