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Blair, Grafton County

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

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: NH/29-05-09
State of New Hampshire Number: 41
County: Grafton County
Township: Campton
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Blair
Crosses: Pemigewasset River
Truss type: Long & Arch
Spans: 2
Length: 293'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1869
Builder:
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N43 48.619
Longitude: W071 39.939
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.3 miles east of I-93 (Exit 27) on Blair Rd. North-northeast of Plymouth.

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Comments:
13 & 14-panel trusses. Per the Vermont Journal (Windsor), July 31, 1869, "The covered bridge, known as the Blair bridge, across the Pemigewasset river, at Campton, was entirely burned by an incendiary fire on Wednesday last week. Loss about $5,000." The bridge was built in 1829 at a cost of $1,000. The bridge was burned down by a man named Lem Parker who claimed that God told him to do it. Parker was taken to court and confessed to the charges. However, he was found not guilty because there were no witnesses. The construction of the current bridge was brought about when a doctor trying to ford the river on horseback (after the loss of the original covered bridge in 1869) found the current too strong. The horse drowned, but the doctor was saved. The town voted to build a bridge immediately. A sign was posted on the bridge indicating there was a fine of five dollars for riding or driving on the bridge faster than five miles per hour. The bridge was rebuilt by Milton Graton and his son Arnold in 1977 at a cost of $59,379. The town of Campton and the state shared the cost of the repair. The Blair Bridge was restored in 2014 by Arnold M. Graton Associates, Inc. for $2,209,704.70. Tim Dansereau served as project manager, and engineer Sean T. James, P.E., of Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, Inc. served as lead engineer. The Blair Bridge reopened with a new rating of six tons and was awarded a Preservation Achievement Award by the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance in 2015. The bridge is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sources:
Marshall, Richard G.. New Hampshire Covered Bridges : A Link With Our Past, 1994, page 77
Knoblock, Glenn A.. New Hampshire Covered Bridges, 2002, page 48
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 154-159

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