By Lee Caldwell

New Hampshire’s covered bridge No. 46 is the Whittier Covered Bridge, spanning the Bearcamp River in West Ossipee. Considered an Ossipee historic monument, the bridge is of a single-span Paddleford truss design with an overall length of 144 feet and a clear span of 110 feet (as measured between the abutments). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 and is one of New Hampshire’s surviving 19th century covered bridges.

The Paddleford truss was introduced by Peter Paddleford (1785-1859), a bridge-builder from Littleton. A modification of the Long truss, “Paddleford tried to make the braces work in both compression and tension by having the braces lap over all of the frame members. He tried to use wood like people later used iron rods. It’s hard to make a tension joint with wood unless you have a lot of distance to do it in. It is complicated joinery,” according to Jan Lewandoski, a Vermont timber-framer and preservationist.

The bridge (or bridges) upon this site have had a tumultuous past. As early as 1796, deeds refer to a bridge called the Great Bridge here. The bridge prior to the Whittier Bridge was washed away in the great flood of 1869.

The Whittier Covered Bridge was said to have been built around 1870. It played an important part in the Carroll County transportation system during the 19th century and into the first half of the 20th. Heavy use and the ravages of time and nature that the bridge received were a contributing factor to the many renovations and repairs that have had to be made over the years.

A pair of laminated arches were made to strengthen it. After the 1936 flood, the abutments were reinforced with concrete buttresses. The lower chords of the trusses and the floor were rebuilt in the 1940s. Later neglect led to such serious deterioration that the bridge had to be closed to traffic in 1981.

In 1982, Gordon Pope, a longtime summer resident of Ossipee, decided to restore the bridge as a memorial to his late wife. His gift, supplemented by gifts from friends, was matched by the State of New Hampshire. The restoration, done by Graton Associates of Ashland, included a new downstream lower chord, the replacement of rotten timbers in both upper chords and both arches, and a new wooden shingled roof, among other repairs. The bridge reopened in 1983.

On May 7, 2024, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance gave the Town of Ossipee the 2024 Preservation Achievement Award for the rehabilitation and preservation of the historic 1870-built Whittier Covered Bridge.

“The Town of Ossipee, its citizens advisory group and its engineering and construction team executed a complex, three phase plan over 14 years to restore and revive this rare single-span Paddleford truss design bridge. Although the nearby hotel where poet John Greenleaf Whittier spent five summers is long gone, his memory remains strong in this picturesque setting,” stated the NH Preservation Alliance in making the award.

In a press release from the Town of Ossipee, town officials stated, “Every surviving 19th century bridge is precious. This one, built in 1870 to replace a span from 1791, is both an engineering marvel and a cultural marvel and a cultural monument. It is a rare example of a single-span Paddleford truss — a NH innovation regarded as the most sophisticated wooden truss design of the 19th century.”

Continuing, the town added, “The bridge was severely damaged in the floods of 1936, bypassed by Route 16 in 1955, renovated in 1982 and closed again in 1989. After the decaying structure was almost washed downstream in 2005, the town cabled it to a tree, sought engineering help and recruited a citizens advisory committee.”

Using a combination of federal, state, and local funding and moving the bridge to an adjacent field for repairs, the team completed extensive repairs in 2016. In 2021, with additional funding, the abutments were repaired and the massive Whittier Covered Bridge was put back into place. It is now limited to foot traffic only.

A recent visit to the bridge on Nudd Road (located just off Route 25) in late summer was a peaceful outing. Because the bridge is open for foot traffic only, it has picnic tables strategically placed for those who desire to sit and soak up the ambience. Late-summer wildflowers were blooming. The current of the mostly clear, tea-colored Bearcamp River was moving slowly along on this particular day — a far cry from the raging floods it had to endure. On the far side of the bridge was a sandy shore with the coarse sand looking ideal for wading. Some of the trees over-hanging the river had started turning their leaves, and the overhanging branches were reflected in the water. A faint odor of creosote emanated from the bridge’s timbers. A watchful, lone silhouetted raptor perched high on a bare tree, letting out periodic cries. One could almost hear the ghost of John Greenleaf Whittier composing a poem.

Whittier Covered Bridge in Ossipee