Rowell's Covered Bridge
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Rowell's Covered Bridge is a covered bridge in
West Hopkinton, New Hampshire West Hopkinton is a populated placeNew Hampshire Employment Security Hopkinton NH Community Profile within the town of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, Hopkinton in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. West Hopkinton is well known for its agr ...
, which carries Rowell Bridge Road over the
Contoocook River The Contoocook River () is a river in New Hampshire. It flows from Contoocook Lake on the Jaffrey/ Rindge border to Penacook (just north of Concord), where it empties into the Merrimack River. It is one of only a few rivers in New Hampshire that ...
. The
Long truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension (mechanics), tensi ...
bridge was completed in 1853, and is one of New Hampshire's few 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. It is named for Abram (or Abraham) Rowell, an early resident of the area.


Description and history

Rowell's Covered Bridge is in a rural setting in western Hopkinton, crossing the Contoocook River a short way north of the Contoocook River Dam. The bridge is just under wide and long, and consists of a single span supported by two modified
Long Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...
trusses resting on granite abutments. The trusses are distinctive in the addition of several arches, which consist of solid timbers that were spliced or butted together, and mortised into other truss members. The bridge's sturdy engineering was demonstrated by the addition of a central pier in the 20th century whose intent was to add strength. The pier, however, acted as a fulcrum, causing the bridge to seesaw under load and weakening its joints. The top of this pier was consequently removed, leaving the bridge largely as designed except for the addition of some metal reinforcing
tie rod A tie rod or tie bar (also known as a hanger rod if vertical) is a slender structural unit used as a tie and (in most applications) capable of carrying tensile loads only. It is any rod or bar-shaped structural member designed to prevent the separa ...
s. The bridge is the third to stand at this site, the oldest known to be standing here in 1793. That bridge was replaced in 1845, but was washed away by flooding in 1852. The present bridge was built in 1853 by Horace Childs. Its design is a variant of a design patented by West Hopkinton native
Stephen H. Long Stephen Harriman Long (December 30, 1784 – September 4, 1864) was an American army civil engineer, explorer, and inventor. As an inventor, he is noted for his developments in the design of steam locomotives. He was also one of the most pro ...
, a civil engineer. Long helped further Childs' career as a bridge builder; Childs is known to have built covered bridges all over
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
and trained a following generation of builders. The bridge underwent a major restoration in 1965.


See also

*
List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire This is a list of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Current listings Former listing See also *List of covered bridges in New Hampshire Notes References {{National Register of Histo ...
*
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 ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Merrimack County, New Hampshire This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Merrimack County, New Hampshire. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Merrimack County, New H ...


References


External links

{{NRHP in Merrimack County, New Hampshire Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Bridges completed in 1852 Buildings and structures in Merrimack County, New Hampshire 1852 establishments in New Hampshire Hopkinton, New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Merrimack County, New Hampshire Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Wooden bridges in New Hampshire Burr Truss bridges in the United States