The Stark Covered Bridge is a historic wooden
covered bridge over the
Upper Ammonoosuc River
The Upper Ammonoosuc River is a tributary of the Connecticut River that flows through Coös County in the northern part of the northeastern U.S. state of New Hampshire. Despite its name, the river is not an upstream portion of the Ammonoosuc Riv ...
in
Stark, New Hampshire
Stark is a town in Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 478 at the 2020 census, down from 556 at the 2010 census. It has a famous covered bridge. The town includes the villages of Percy and Crystal as well as the village ...
. It carries a connecting roadway which joins the Northside Road to
New Hampshire Route 110
New Hampshire Route 110 (abbreviated NH 110) is a east–west state highway in Coos County, northern New Hampshire, United States. The road winds through the scenic, mountainous country of New Hampshire north of the White Mountain National Fores ...
. The bridge was built in either 1857 or 1862 (sources differing), replacing a floating bridge that had been located a short way upstream. It is a two-span Paddleford truss bridge, which is a regional variant of the Long truss. It is long with a span of , and is wide, carrying an wide roadway and two sidewalks. The shore ends of the bridge rest on abutments of granite stone, while the center of the bridge is supported by a reinforced concrete pier, which is flared on the upstream side to deflect debris. The bridge is reinforced with steel beams, giving it a carrying capacity of 15 tons.
It is decorated with pendant acorn finials and painted bright white.
When originally built, the central pier was also of granite, but it was washed away, along with the bridge, in 1890 or 1895. The bridge survived the disaster, and was placed again on its abutments, and reinforced with laminated arches that were thought to eliminate the need for a central pier. This configuration survived until 1946, when sagging in the bridge prompted construction of a temporary wooden central pier. The bridge was rebuilt in 1954, adding the present concrete pier and the steel stringers, and removing the laminated arches.
[
The bridge 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 1980.
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
*
Stark Bridge
NH Division of Historical Resources
{{NRHP in Coos County, New Hampshire
Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
Bridges completed in 1857
Wooden bridges in New Hampshire
Tourist attractions in Coös County, New Hampshire
Bridges in Coös County, New Hampshire
National Register of Historic Places in Coös County, New Hampshire
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
1857 establishments in New Hampshire
Long truss bridges in the United States