The Bement Covered Bridge is a historic wooden
covered bridge
A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...
on Center Road over the
Warner River
The Warner River is a river located in central New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Contoocook River, part of the Merrimack River watershed.
The Warner River begins at the outlet of Todd Lake in Bradford, New Hampshire, 3 ...
in
Bradford, New Hampshire
Bradford is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,662 at the 2020 census. The main village of the town, where 372 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Bradford census-designated place (CDP) ...
. A
Long-truss bridge, it was built in 1854, and is one of New Hampshire's small number of surviving 19th-century covered bridges. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1976.
Description and history
The Bement Covered Bridge is located just south of Bradford's main village, carrying Center Road over the Warner River just south of
New Hampshire Route 103
New Hampshire Route 103 (abbreviated NH 103) is a east–west highway in west-central New Hampshire, United States. The highway runs from Claremont, at the Vermont border on the Connecticut River, to Hopkinton, west of Concord.
The western ter ...
near the Bradford Pines Natural Area. It is a single-span Long truss structure, with a roadway length of , a roof length of , and a roadway width of , sufficient for one lane of traffic. It rests on stone abutments that have been partially faced and topped with concrete. It is covered by a gabled roof, and its sidewalls are clad in vertical board siding. The gable ends above the portals (which are in clearance) are finished in wooden clapboards.
[
This bridge was built in 1854, and is the third bridge to occupy the site. Although it has long been thought that the patentee of the trusses, Stephen Long, was responsible for its construction, there is no documentary support for this. It is possible that Long's brother, Dr. Moses Long, a resident of nearby ]Warner
Warner can refer to:
People
* Warner (writer)
* Warner (given name)
* Warner (surname)
Fictional characters
* Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs''
* Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...
, may have played a role in its construction as an agent for his brother. The bridge is named for local resident Samuel Bement, whose property the second (1818) bridge was identified as being near in town records. The bridge has undergone several restorations, including in 1947 and 1968-69. It provides access to only a modest number of residences.
See also
*List of New Hampshire covered bridges
This is a list of New Hampshire covered bridges, old, new, and restored. There are 58 historic wooden covered bridges currently standing and assigned official numbers by the U.S. state of New Hampshire. There are additional covered bridges extant ...
*
*
References
External links
Bement Bridge
New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources
{{NRHP in Merrimack County, New Hampshire
Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
Bridges completed in 1854
Wooden bridges in New Hampshire
Tourist attractions in Merrimack County, New Hampshire
Bridges in Merrimack County, New Hampshire
National Register of Historic Places in Merrimack County, New Hampshire
Bradford, New Hampshire
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
1854 establishments in New Hampshire