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Whittier or Bearcamp, Carroll County

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Inventory Number: NH/29-02-08
State of New Hampshire Number: 46
County: Carroll County
Township: Ossipee
Town/Village: West Ossipee
Bridge Name: Whittier or Bearcamp
Crosses: Bearcamp River
Truss type: Paddleford & Arch
Spans: 1
Length: 133'
Roadway Width:
Built: c1870
Builder: possibly Jacob H. Berry
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N43 49.332
Longitude: W071 12.708
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.6 miles west of jct NH16 on NH25, then 0.1 miles right on Nudd Rd.

Whittier or Bearcamp Bridge, Ossipee, Carroll County, NH Built c1870
Richard E. Roy Collection

Whittier or Bearcamp Bridge, Ossipee, Carroll County, NH Built c1870
Bill Caswell Photo, August 8, 2024

Whittier or Bearcamp Bridge, Ossipee, Carroll County, NH Built c1870
Bill Caswell Photo, November 17, 1984

Whittier or Bearcamp Bridge, Ossipee, Carroll County, NH Built c1870
Bill Caswell Photo, July 26, 2009

Whittier or Bearcamp Bridge, Ossipee, Carroll County, NH Built c1870
Todd Clark Collection

Whittier or Bearcamp Bridge, Ossipee, Carroll County, NH Built c1870
Fred Wunsch Photo, circa 1960

Whittier or Bearcamp Bridge, Ossipee, Carroll County, NH Built c1870
Bill Caswell Photo, August 8, 2024

Comments:
Town records indicate there was a crude open timber bridge at this site in 1791 which was repaired in 1803, 1811, and again in 1820. A new bridge was built in 1820 by Wentworth Lord at a cost of $133. The builders of the 1820 bridge used sound lumber from the old bridge. It was again rebuilt in 1832. In 1849, John Brown built a new bridge at the same location for $234. The great freshet of 1869 destroyed the bridge standing there at that time. Residents approved construction of a new bridge at the town meeting the following March. Most sources credit the construction of the current bridge to Jacob Berry but definite proof of that has not yet been found. Steel telltales were erected in 1958 to protect the upper bracing of the bridge and removed in 1983 after the restoration. The restoration began in November 1982 by Milton Graton and Sons and was completed in August 1983 at a cost of $85,000. The sides of the Whittier Bridge were originally closed with the exception of tiny windows. The sides were opened as part of the restoration. Much of the money for the restoration came from summer resident Gordon Pope and the remainder from the state. The bridge was dedicated on August 19, 1983 by family, friends, and the State of New Hampshire in memory of Nancy Sheldon Pope. The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic on March 15, 1989. In 2007, the town received a $632,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration’s National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program, pushing the fundraising closer to the end goal. The project was to be completed in three phases. The first phase was to remove the bridge from the abutments; the second was to rehabilitate the superstructure. The third was to rehabilitate the abutments and put the bridge back over the river. The first phase began on July 2, 2008. Stanley E. Graton of 3G Construction, Inc. of Holderness moved the bridge onto dry land near the south approach. Graton reinforced the inside of the bridge with steel beams, jacked up the bridge, and inserted steel I-beams underneath; then he lowered it onto rollers and pulled it along the I-beams. The move cost $152,000. Delays followed so phase 2 did not get underway until September 2014 and was completed during the summer of 2016. More delays followed along with project advertisements with no bidders. Ultimately, in June 2021, the town selected CPM Constructors of Freeport, Maine’s bid of $1,653,426 to complete the project. The bridge was moved back onto its abutments on September 15, 2022. Once completed, it was opened to pedestrian traffic. The Whittier Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sources:
Marshall, Richard G.. New Hampshire Covered Bridges : A Link With Our Past, 1994, page 87
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 178-183

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