Contoocook Railroad Covered Bridge

Contoocook Railroad Covered Bridge

Contoocook (Hopkinton), over the Contoocook River. Built 1849-50, rebuilt 1889. The oldest surviving covered railroad bridge in the United States. NRHP listed.

1849-50 (rebuilt 1889)
Year Built
NRHP Town Lattice
New Hampshire
Merrimack County
Hopkinton (Contoocook)
1849-50 (rebuilt 1889)
43.2214,-71.7126
Preserved; open to visitors on foot
Contoocook River
Double-web Town Lattice Truss (railroad)
150

The Contoocook Railroad Bridge, listed on the National Register as the Hopkinton Railroad Covered Bridge, crosses the Contoocook River in the village of Contoocook in Hopkinton. Originally built between 1849 and 1850 and substantially rebuilt in 1889, it is a double-web Town lattice design that served the Concord and Claremont Railroad and later the Boston and Maine. It is the oldest surviving covered railroad bridge in the United States and the oldest of only four surviving double-web Town lattice railroad bridges.

It carried rail traffic until 1960, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and passed to the State of New Hampshire in 1990. Restored and preserved beside the Contoocook Railroad Museum, it is open to visitors on foot.

Location

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