Bement Covered Bridge, Bradford New Hampshire
The Bement Bridge is the third bridge to occupy its site. The first bridge was constructed in 1790; it was originally to have been paid for by thirty pounds of the penny tax, which was a tax of one penny per acre of land in Bradford to be used for bridge and road construction. Instead, the inhabitants voted at a town meeting in 1790 to construct the bridge themselves. This bridge apparently stood until 1818 when it was voted to build a new bridge near "Samuel Bement's" In 1854 the town voted to rebuild "Bement Bridge" and authorized the selectmen to borrow money for this purpose. According to a sign posted at the north portal of the bridge, $500 was spent to build the bridge in 1854.
The bridge has a tradition of having been built by Stephen H. Long and constructed entirely of hemlock, although no evidence was found to support or dispute the claim. It would seem more likely that Long's brother, Dr. Moses Long of neighboring Warner, might have had an active role in the bridge as a patent agent for his brother.
The Bement Bridge is located on the main road between Bradford Village and Bradford Center Village, in a location that has been traveled and important to the community since at least 1790. The bridge is situated on a slight elevation above a floodplain which would seem to account for the lack of cases of flood damage. Until the most recent repairs, the bridge had been maintained exclusively by the town of Bradford, including extensive rebuilding in 1947. The bridge currently provides one-way passage with a five-ton weight limit, serving a residential population with little or no commercial traffic.
Bridge Description
The Bement Bridge crosses the West Branch of the Warner in one span, near Bradford Village It connects Center Road on either side of the river; Center Road is a paved town-owned road.
The truss is seven panels of the patented Long truss design, with slight variation from the Long truss in the center panel, which has two crossed braces (each 6" x 3") attached by bolts to the outside face of the posts of the center panel. The other panels have one 6" x 7" brace set into notches in the faces of 8" x 7" posts. The braces are flanked by counter braces (each 7¼" x 3") which are bolted to the brace at their crossing point and to the posts before they pass through the chords. The top and bottom chords consist of four members, each, joined with iron bolts; each member is separated from the next by a 1-1½" space, with the overall size of each chord being 16½" x 7¼". The posts pass through the center space of each chord and extend two feet above the top chord, while the counterbraces pass through the outer spaces of each chord. Each of these members is bolted to the chord at its crossing point with the chord. The truss is laterally braced by beams set on top of each post which extend across the roadbed to the corresponding position on the opposite side.
The truss sits on paired timbers set on concrete footings which form the top of each abutment. The abutments are split stone (mainly granite) laid up without mortar and are rectangularly shaped. The river face of the north abutment on its east side has been faced in concrete.
The bridge has an overall roof length of 71'2" with a roadbed of 63', an overall width of 19'2½", and a roadbed width of 16'4", and a vertical clearance of 10½'. The roadbed is made of 3½" thick planks laid lengthwise in the direction of the road and spiked to 5" x 11" supports set on the bottom chords.
The pitch roof is covered with shingles, set on rafters that rise from a board that extends over the tops of the posts. This system is further supported by frames on top of each lateral brace. The portals have cut back overhangs of 4'2" on the south and 4' on the north which are covered in clapboarding allowed to weather gray with white trim. The walls are sheathed in vertical boarding allowed to weather gray.
The bridge has been assigned the following numbers: 29-07-03 in the World Guide to Covered Bridges published by the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges; 140/144 by the New Hampshire Department of Public Works and Highways.
The whole roof and its frame, the concrete footings and facing of the abutments, the siding, some truss members, and the bottom chord are new. These alterations were made in 1968-1969 when the bridge was extensively repaired at a cost of $20,000 of which the state of New Hampshire paid two thirds under the Town Bridge Aid Program with the town of Bradford paying the balance.
South portal and west wall (1974)
