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Saco River, Carroll County

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

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Inventory Number: NH/29-02-03#3
State of New Hampshire Number: 48
County: Carroll County
Township: Conway
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Saco River
Crosses: Saco River
Truss type: Paddleford & Arch
Spans: 2
Length: 225'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1890
Builder: Charles and Frank Broughton
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N43 58.984
Longitude: W071 07.022
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.1 miles west of jct NH16/153, then right 0.2 miles on Washington St., bear right on East Side Rd. 0.1 miles.

Saco River Bridge, Conway, Carroll County, NH Built 1890
Richard E. Roy Collection

Saco River Bridge, Conway, Carroll County, NH Built 1890
Bill Caswell Photo (1984)

Saco River Bridge, Conway, Carroll County, NH Built 1890
Bill Caswell Photo, October 28, 2014

Saco River Bridge, Conway, Carroll County, NH Built 1890
Bill Caswell Photo, March 24, 2007

Saco River Bridge, Conway, Carroll County, NH Built 1890
Raymond Brainerd Photo, July 29, 1935, NSPCB Archives

Comments:
13 and 15-panel trusses. In 1850, Jacob Berry and Peter Paddleford built a covered bridge to replace a crudely framed log bridge that had collapsed at this site. The 1850 bridge stood until the Swift River covered bridge crashed into it in 1869. The Saco River covered bridge was rebuilt by Allen and Warren of Conway but it was destroyed again by a tannery fire in 1890. Per The Boston Globe, June 22, 1890, "June 21. -- The mill and ladder factory, together with the covered bridge across the Saco at Conway, N.H., were burned this afternoon." The current bridge was built by Charles Broughton and his son Frank. Rebuilt 1988.

Sources:
Marshall, Richard G.. New Hampshire Covered Bridges : A Link With Our Past, 1994, page 91
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 44
Chandler, Kim Varney. Covered Bridges of New Hampshire, 2022, Pages 189-192

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If the intended use is beyond these purposes, it is the responsibility of the user to obtain the appropriate permissions from the owner stated in the image's credits.