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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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Hartland, Carleton County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

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Inventory Number: NB/55-02-07
County: Carleton County
Township: Hartland
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Hartland
Crosses: St. John River
Truss type: Howe
Spans: 7
Length: 1282', 391m
Roadway Width:
Built: 1901
Builder: Hartland Bridge Company
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N46 17.800
Longitude: W067 31.820
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.5 miles (800 m) south of jct NB130 on NB103, then 0.2 miles (300 m) left on Hartland Hill Bridge Rd. (old TCH2).

Hartland Bridge, Hartland, Carleton County, NB Built 1899
Bill Caswell Photo (1986)

Hartland Bridge, Hartland, Carleton County, NB Built 1899
Richard E. Roy Collection

Hartland Bridge, Hartland, Carleton County, NB Built 1901
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick

Hartland Bridge, Hartland, Carleton County, NB Built 1901
Bill Caswell Photo, July 15, 2012

Hartland Bridge, Hartland, Carleton County, NB Built 1901
Todd Clark Collection

Comments:
The 1,282 foot Hartland Covered Bridge is the longest covered bridge in the world. It was originally constructed by the Hartland Bridge Company, which was formed by citizens on both sides of the St. John River. On July 4, 1901 the bridge was officially opened with the following tolls charged: three cents for pedestrians, six cents for a single horse and wagon, twelve cents for a double team. A strip of twenty tickets could be purchased for fifty cents. The bridge was purchased by the government of New Brunswick in 1906 and tolls were removed. Two spans of the bridge were taken out by river ice April 6, 1920, and the government made major repairs and covered the structure in 1922. The side walkway was added to the bridge in 1945 and on June 23, 1980, the Hartland Covered Bridge was declared a National Historic Site and on September 15, 1999 it was declared a Provincial Historic Site. Repairs were done to the bridge in 1982-83 when a car struck a steel strain rod, causing the bridge to drop and break the main beam on the western most span. The car received an estimated $400.00 damage, while the bill for repairing the bridge was $140,000.00. The bridge finally reopened for traffic, on February 10, 1983.

Sources:
Town of Hartland, New Brunswick - Home of the Worlds Longest Covered Bridge, 2003, http://www.town.hartland.nb.ca/html/bridge.html (15 July 2019)
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 165