Swiftwater Covered Bridge
About this property
The Swiftwater Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge which carries Porter Road over the Wild Ammonoosuc River in Bath, New Hampshire. Built in 1849, it is one of New Hampshire's few surviving 19th-century covered bridges, and a well-preserved example of the Paddleford truss design. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The Swiftwater Covered Bridge is located in southeastern Bath, carrying Porter Road over the Wild Ammonoosuc River just north of New Hampshire Route 112. It is a locally distinctive single-span Paddleford truss design, with laminated arches and steel beam reinforcements added in the 20th century. The bridge has an overall length of 173'8" and two clear spans of 77'6" and 57'6". The roadbed is 14'6" wide, with a vertical clearance of 12'9". It rests on lightly-mortared split granite abutments topped with concrete footings. The roof is made of corrugated metal, and the sides are sheathed in vertical planking to a height of eight feet, leaving an exposed area above. Its portals are also covered in vertical planking, but do not extend all the way to the ground. The bridge, the fourth on the site, was built in 1849; the first two bridges, dating back to 1810, were washed away by floods. It was probably built under the auspices of Joseph Fifield and John Carbee, town officials responsible for its highways and bridges. Its design, an unpatented truss by New Hampshire native Peter Paddleford, may have been used due to local connections with Paddleford associates. The bridge is said to have survived the use of explosives to clear logjams in the area. List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places listings in Grafton County, New Hampshire Media related to Swiftwater Covered Bridge, Bath (New Hampshire) at Wikimedia Commons
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Swiftwater Covered Bridge
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Questions about this property
When was Swiftwater Covered Bridge listed on the National Register?
Swiftwater Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 21, 1976.
What type of historic resource is Swiftwater Covered Bridge?
Swiftwater Covered Bridge is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Swiftwater Covered Bridge?
The period of significance for Swiftwater Covered Bridge is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Swiftwater Covered Bridge?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Swiftwater Covered Bridge will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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