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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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New England College, Merrimack 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/29-07-12
State of New Hampshire Number: 63
County: Merrimack County
Township: Henniker
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: New England College
Crosses: Contoocook River
Truss type: Town
Spans: 1
Length: 137'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1972
Builder: Arnold Graton
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N43 10.646
Longitude: W071 49.454
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.7 miles south of jct US202/NH9 on NH114, then 0.1 miles right and bear right into New England College campus.

New England College Bridge, Henniker, Merrimack County, NH Built 1972
Bill Caswell Photo (2003)

New England College Bridge, Henniker, Merrimack County, NH Built 1972
Bill Caswell Photo, June 14, 2020

Comments:
The main campus of New England College is situated along one side of the Contoocook River, and the athletic fields are on the other. By 1970, it was decided that a bridge was needed to connect the two. A meeting was held on September 19, 1970, with one-hundred interested parties in attendance, including representatives from the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges (NSPCB), the Covered Bridge Association of New Hampshire (CBANH), the New York State Covered Bridge Society, the Connecticut River Valley Covered Bridge Society and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In the end, it was unanimously decided that an authentic covered bridge would be built across the Contoocook. NEC began fundraising for $80,000 to cover the costs. The bridge was promoted as the first authentic covered bridge built in New Hampshire in over 100 years. At the time of its construction, Milton Graton was busy restoring the covered bridge at Newfield, New York, providing the opportunity for his son, Arnold, to take the lead on his first covered bridge construction project. The bridge was built using traditional methods and the framed trusses were pulled across the river by a team of oxen. It was dedicated on Saturday, May 13, 1972. Speakers included Governor Walter Peterson, Congressman Louis Wyman, NEC President and other dignitaries. On May 21, 2022, the NSPCB hosted a 50th anniversary celebration at the bridge.

Sources:
Marshall, Richard G.. New Hampshire Covered Bridges : A Link With Our Past, 1994, page 105
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 51
Chandler, Kim Varney. Covered Bridges of New Hampshire, 2022, Pages 217-219

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