Bement - 1854
The Bement Covered Bridge is a historic wooden covered bridge on Center Road over the Warner River in Bradford, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. This long truss bridge built in 1854 is one of New Hampshire's small number of surviving 19th-century covered bridges.
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 near the Bradford Pines Natural Area. It is a single-span Long truss structure, with a roadway length of 63 feet, a roof length of 71 feet 2 inches, and a roadway width of 19 feet 2.5 inches, 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 10 feet 6 inches in clearance) are finished in wooden clapboards.
This bridge is the third bridge to occupy the site. Although it has long been thought that the patentee of the trusses, Colonel Stephen Long, a member of the U.S. Army Topographical Engineers, was responsible for its construction, there is no documentary support for this. Much of Colonel Long's bridge-building experience came from his employment with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. While working for the railroad, he developed a plan for a new covered bridge truss that became nationally known as the Long truss. Long patented his design in 1830. In 1835 and 1837 he patented improvements to the design. It is possible that Long's brother, Dr. Moses Long, a resident of nearby Warner, 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.
Of the 400 covered bridges that once stood in the state of New Hampshire, as of 2019 only 54 remain.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Located at: N43 15.843 W71 57.191 - WGCB #29-07-03
Photographed in July of 2019.