County Farm Bridge (Wilton, New Hampshire)
Description and history
Old County Farm Road was the main access road to the Hillsborough County Poor Farm, and is now an unmaintained class 6 road. The bridge consists of a single stone arch with a span just under 18 feet (5.5 m). It is lined with cut granite voussoirs 18 inches (46 cm) thick. The arch begins on land 7 feet (2.1 m) above the water, and the arch rises to a height of 15 feet 10 inches (4.8 m) above the typical water level. The arch is embedded in a causeway which is 430 feet (130 m) long and has a base width of 29 feet (8.8 m).
The bridge was built in 1885 for the town by the Ward brothers of Lowell, Massachusetts, at a cost of $3,000. The Wards were well known for work they did on railroad bridges, which often employed stone arches. Stone for the bridge was quarried in Wilton, from a quarry that also supplied granite for public works projects in the town center. The bridge has been little altered since its construction: the arch was originally dry laid, but a number of joints in the barrel of the arch have subsequently been mortared with concrete.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
- List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "NRHP nomination for County Farm Bridge". National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
External links
Media related to County Farm Bridge (Wilton, New Hampshire) at Wikimedia Commons