Ashuelot covered bridge is considered by local historians to be one of New Hampshire’s most elaborate covered bridges. This bridge is located south of New Hampshire Route 119 in the upper village of Ashuelot on Bolton Road, in the town of Winchester, New Hampshire.
This wooden covered bridge is a real beauty and the surrounding area is very pretty. Although there is no parking lot at the bridge, there is plenty of room to park on the street so you can get out and explore the bridge and the area.
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Built in 1864-1865 at a cost of $4650, the architectural style is Town lattice truss. This covered bridge is one of the state’s few surviving 19th-century covered bridges. It is 169 feet long and has sidewalks on both sides. Because this bridge is also still open to vehicle traffic, having the sidewalks helps keep pedestrians out of the way of traffic.
The Ashuelot Covered Bridge is also known as Village Bridge and Village Station Bridge.
The original purpose of the Ashuelot covered bridge was to transport wood across the Ashuelot River to be used by the Ashuelot Railroad. The railroad had a station in the village of Ashuelot.
In 1981 Ashuelot Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is World Guide Number 29-03-02 and New Hampshire Number 1.
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Did You Know:
A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, siding and decking that almost completely encloses the structure. The purpose of the cover and sides is to protect the wooden structure from weather. Uncovered wooden bridges typically only have a lifespan of about 20 years due to the effects of rain and sun. A covered bridge could last over 100 years! Due to the high cost to maintain, restore and or replace a covered bridge, only about 1 in 10 survived the 20th century!
At one point in time there were over 10,000 covered bridges in the United States! Today there is approximately 750 remaining. New Hampshire has 54 standing historic wooden covered bridges, and all have an assigned official number by the state of New Hampshire.
Other Points of Interest in the Area:
- Pisgah Start Park in Winchester, NH-great for hiking (approximately 4 miles from Ashuelot Covered Bridge)
- Coombs Covered Bridge in Winchester, NH (approximately 9 miles from Ashuelot Covered Bridge)
- Mount Grace Monadnock in Warwick, MA (approximately 9 miles from Ashuelot Covered Bridge)
- Carleton Covered Bridge in Swanzey, NH (approximately 10 miles from Winchester, NH)
- Sawyers Crossing Covered Bridge in Swanzey, NH (approximately 15 miles from Ashuelot Covered Bridge)
- Slate Covered Bridge in Swanzey, NH (approximately 9.5 miles from Ashuelot Covered Bridge)
- West Swanzey Covered Bridge in Swanzey, NH (approximately 12.5 miles from Ashuelot Covered Bridge)
As always, we arrived at Ashuelot Covered Bridge by motorcycle. On this day, we only visited this one bridge, although a trip back to the area will be done in the future to include the other five bridges listed above!!
We only did this one stop this trip, because our actual road trip was taking us to Vermont for a few days! Because we were traveling a long distance, we started the first part of the trip on the highway north, then we switched to Route 2 along the Mohawk Trail and continued backroads for the rest of our ride to Vermont!
If you are interested in our exact route, please contact us and we can get you what you need!
The bridge has such complex details. I love it.
What a gorgeous landscape. Love the history of the bridge!!
Thanks Kate! I love learning about the history of the covered bridges!
Wow very informative. I have always loved old architecture and this bridge seems marvellous. Thanks for all the information.
You are right Arti, this bridge is marvellous! I love architecture as well and that is part of my attraction to covered bridges!
Nice article, Pat! There’s always something new to learn and discover everyday. 🙂
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Maryse! I love learning new things and visiting new places! Things like this make such great day trips!
Looks pretty charming, love it..
Very charming, as I find most covered bridges to be!!
Can’t believe a bridge with such an intricate design was built in the 1800s. Never been to New Hampshire, but a great spot to keep in mind when i visit. Thanks ? for sharing.
It is amazing that these bridges are still around for us to enjoy! I hope you get to NH one day and can visit some of them!