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Bath-Haverhill or Woodsville, Grafton County

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

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Inventory Number: NH/29-05-04
State of New Hampshire Number: 27
County: Grafton County
Township: Bath - Haverhill
Town/Village: - Woodsville
Bridge Name: Bath-Haverhill or Woodsville
Crosses: Ammonoosuc River
Truss type: Town & Arch
Spans: 2
Length: 256'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1829
Builder:
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N44 09.284
Longitude: W072 02.185
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.1 miles north of jct US302 on NH135, then right 100' on Oak Hill St., then left 0.2 on N Court St. North edge of Woodsville.

Bath-Haverhill or Woodsville Bridge, Bath-Haverhill, Grafton County, NH Built 1829
Bill Caswell Photo, November 2007

Bath-Haverhill or Woodsville Bridge, Bath-Haverhill, Grafton County, NH Built 1829
Richard E. Roy Collection

Bath-Haverhill or Woodsville Bridge, Bath-Haverhill, Grafton County, NH Built 1829
Bill Caswell Photo (1984)

Bath-Haverhill or Woodsville Bridge, Bath-Haverhill, Grafton County, NH Built 1829
Bill Caswell Photo, April 14, 2014

Comments:
According to New Hampshire Department of Transportation records, this is the oldest covered bridge still in use in New Hampshire. It is the first and only bridge to be erected at this site. In March of 1827 the voters of Bath appointed a committee to hold discussions with the selectmen of Haverhill regarding the site of a bridge between the two towns. In September of 1828 the town of Bath set aside $300 to purchase stone and timber for a bridge. In March 1829, Ariel Miner was given the position of superintendent, but upon his request in June of that year he was released from this position and replaced by Moses Abbott and Leonard Walker. The bridge was completed later in the year. In 1973 it was repaired at a cost of $38,710. Ice damaged the structure in the winter 1980 and the bridge was repaired by the state in March of 1981 at a cost of $8,000. Someone unsuccessfully attempted to burn it on the night of September 11, 1983. The Bath-Haverhill 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 51
Knoblock, Glenn A.. New Hampshire Covered Bridges, 2002, page 51
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 48
Chandler, Kim Varney. Covered Bridges of New Hampshire, 2022, Pages 98-104

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