Slate Covered Bridge

Covered bridge in Swanzey, New Hampshire, US


title: "Slate Covered Bridge" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["covered-bridges-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-new-hampshire", "bridges-completed-in-2001", "wooden-bridges-in-new-hampshire", "tourist-attractions-in-cheshire-county,-new-hampshire", "bridges-in-cheshire-county,-new-hampshire", "national-register-of-historic-places-in-cheshire-county,-new-hampshire", "swanzey,-new-hampshire", "road-bridges-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-new-hampshire", "lattice-truss-bridges-in-the-united-states", "covered-bridges-in-the-united-states-destroyed-by-arson"] description: "Covered bridge in Swanzey, New Hampshire, US" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_Covered_Bridge" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Covered bridge in Swanzey, New Hampshire, US ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox NRHP"]

FieldValue
nameSlate Covered Bridge
imageSLATE COVERED BRIDGE.jpg
captionThe 1862 bridge, in 1970
locationWestport Village Road over the Ashuelot River, Westport, New Hampshire
coordinates
locmapinNew Hampshire#USA
built
architectureTown lattice truss
addedNovember 14, 1978
arealess than one acre
refnum78000212
::

| name = Slate Covered Bridge | nrhp_type = | image = SLATE COVERED BRIDGE.jpg | caption = The 1862 bridge, in 1970 | location= Westport Village Road over the Ashuelot River, Westport, New Hampshire | coordinates = | locmapin = New Hampshire#USA | built = | architecture = Town lattice truss | added = November 14, 1978 | area = less than one acre | refnum = 78000212

The Slate Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge which carries the Westport Village Road over the Ashuelot River in Westport, a village of Swanzey, New Hampshire. The bridge was built in 2001, as a replacement for an 1862 bridge that was destroyed by arson fire in 1993. The 1862 bridge, one of New Hampshire's small number of surviving 19th-century covered bridges, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Description and history

The Slate Covered Bridge is located in southwestern Swanzey, carrying Westport Village Road (formerly an alignment of New Hampshire Route 10) over the Ashuelot River in a roughly north-south orientation. The bridge is a reproduction of the 1862 bridge. The 1862 bridge was a single span Town lattice truss, with a span of 122 ft and a roadway width of 17 ft. Its name derives from a family that lived nearby at the time of its construction. It rested on abutments of split granite, and was covered with a tin roof. Its sides were fully sheathed, and it had numerous repairs and parts replaced. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Slate_7.26.23_-_2©_KVC.jpg" caption="Slate Bridge, 2023"] ::

Following a devastating fire in 1993, the Slate Bridge was rebuilt in 2001. Through fundraising efforts from the Slate Covered Bridge Committee, a new $950,000 covered bridge was designed by Hoyle Tanner and built by Wright Construction, Inc. The project received several merit awards, including the 2002 National Timber Bridge Award, the 2003 National Council of Structural Engineers Associations Award, and the Plan New Hampshire Award in 2004.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Slate_Covered_Bridge_(Swanzey,_New_Hampshire).jpg" caption="The 2001 bridge, as seen in 2011"] ::

References

References

  1. {{NRISref. 2009a
  2. "Winter 2002 Newsletter". National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges.
  3. ["NRHP nomination for Slate Covered Bridge"]({{NRHP url). National Park Service.
  4. Chandler, Kim Varney. (2023). "Covered bridges of New Hampshire". Peter E. Randall Publisher.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

covered-bridges-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-new-hampshirebridges-completed-in-2001wooden-bridges-in-new-hampshiretourist-attractions-in-cheshire-county,-new-hampshirebridges-in-cheshire-county,-new-hampshirenational-register-of-historic-places-in-cheshire-county,-new-hampshireswanzey,-new-hampshireroad-bridges-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-new-hampshirelattice-truss-bridges-in-the-united-statescovered-bridges-in-the-united-states-destroyed-by-arson