McDermott - 1869
The Cold River Bridge, also known as McDermott Bridge, is a historic wooden covered bridge over the Cold River in Langdon, New Hampshire, USA.
Now closed to vehicular traffic, it formerly carried Crane Brook Road, which now crosses the river on a modern bridge nearby. The bridge is 78 feet and 12 feet wide and is a single-span Town lattice truss. Built in 1869 by Albert S. Granger, it is the fourth bridge to stand on the site. The other three were built in 1790, 1814, and 1840 and were all of the pole and plank types. The current bridge, built in 1869, was of a type patented by Sanford Granger in 1833. The patent appears to be a modification of the Town lattice truss.
Sandford Granger owned a sawmill on Fall Mountain Brook from 1838 until 1851. Virgin timber removed from the mountain was used in the construction of his bridges. The current structure was built by his son Albert S. Granger. In 1961, an estimate of $7,000 was given to the town for the restoration of the bridge. The town was to pay $2,100 and the state $4,900. However, the town decided to establish a sinking fund to pay for building a modern bridge which was built downstream in 1964 under the Town Bridge Aid Program. The covered bridge was closed to vehicular traffic and retained for historic reasons.
Of the 400 covered bridges that once stood in the state of New Hampshire, as of 2019 only 54 remain.
The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Located at: N43 10.185 W72 20.746 - WGCB #29-10-06
Photographed in July of 2019.