Covered Bridges of New Hampshire
This podcast is a companion to the publication, Covered Bridges of New Hampshire, by Kim Varney Chandler; an engaging book that provides in-depth historical narratives of the state’s historic covered bridges. There are over 60 authentic covered bridges in New Hampshire; 46 of which are over a century old. These bridges exist today solely because of the efforts of a small but powerful community that both recognized their significance and honored their tradition. Join Kim as she interviews folks of this community that she met along her journey. Whether you’re a covered bridge expert, or, know very little about covered bridges, this podcast is for you!
Episodes
Kim talks with Alan Rumrill, Executive Director of the Historical Society of Cheshire County. Alan shares the rich history of the lost bridges of the Monadnock area and why the remaining covered bridges are valued by the community.
Links from the conversation
Historical Society of Cheshire County
Links for Covered Bridges of New Hampshire
Covered Bridges of New Hampshire
Kim talks with Warner historian Rebecca Courser about the namesake of the Dalton Bridge. Rebecca shares with us a history of the town of Warner, the Dalton family, and just who exactly the covered bridge was named after.
Links from the conversation
Warner Historical Society
Links for Covered Bridges of New Hampshire
Covered Bridges of New Hampshire
Photos of the Dalton Bridge
Kim talks with lifelong Swanzey resident Lee Dunham about the namesake of the Thompson covered bridge. Lee walks us through the exciting life of actor and playwright Denman Thompson and his production, The Old Homestead; and how integral the play has been to the town of Swanzey for over a hundred years.
Links from the conversation
The Old Homestead
2016 Article in the Keene Sentinel
Denman Thomps...
Kim talks with two women who live on either side of the Columbia Bridge in northern New Hampshire. Columbia, New Hampshire, resident Stacey Campbell and Lemington, Vermont, resident Sharon Ellingwood White, share how the location of the Columbia Bridge has connected their two communities across the Connecticut River for almost two hundred years.
Links for Covered Bridges of New Hampshire
Covered Bridges of New Hampshi...
Kim talks with Kaleigh Paré Shaughnessy, Executive Director of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace, about the namesake of the Whittier Bridge in Ossipee. Kaleigh tells us the story of how a young Massachusetts poet transitioned from a fierce abolitionist to one of America’s most beloved fireside poets, and how his name became attached to a New Hampshire covered bridge.
Links from the conversation
Whittier Birth...
Kim interviews Francis Faulkner, Jr. of Swanzey, about his involvement in fundraising efforts to rebuild the Slate Bridge after it was destroyed by arson in 1993. Francis shares the many layers of funding through the process of town meeting and the community connection to covered bridges in Swanzey.
Links from the conversation
Town of Swanzey
Links for Covered Bridges of New Hampshire
Covered Bridges of Ne...
Kim interviews Marilyn Stuller of Langdon about her experience leading the fundraising efforts to save Langdon’s two historic covered bridges. Marilyn shares the story of the organic process that took fourteen years to complete and the value of preserving part of the tapestry of the greater Langdon community.
Links from the conversation
Farview Farm
Arnold M. Graton Associates
Town of Langdon
Kim talks with Trish Kane, Collections Curator of the Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Resource Center in Oxford, New York. Trish shares a history of the center, the significance of its namesake, and her personal journey in the preservation of historic covered bridges.
Links from the conversation
The Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Resource Center
The Oxford Memorial Library
Covered Spans of Yesteryear
...
Kim talks with master bridgewright Arnold M. Graton of Holderness about his long career preserving and restoring historic structures, most notably, covered bridges. Arnold shares his experiences utilizing nineteenth-century construction to both restore, and build, new covered bridges, not only in New Hampshire but across the country. This is a rare interview with a true master whose impact on the New Hampshire covered bridge comm...
Kim talks with Steve Taylor of Plainfield about the importance of covered bridges in New Hampshire communities. Steve explains how a practical approach to bridge building has translated into part of our cultural cache and how important these covered bridges are not only to small towns but to the state as a whole.
Links from the conversation
Stephen Taylor - New Hampshire Humanities Council
100 Things You Should Do...
Kim interviews New Hampshire Preservation Alliance Executive Director Jennifer Goodman about historic preservation efforts in the state and their impact on saving covered bridges. Join us for a conversation about successful preservation efforts and how the Alliance celebrates this work.
Links from the conversation
New Hampshire Preservation Alliance
2020 Preservation Achievement Award Winner - Arnold M. Graton
Kim interviews Sandwich Historical Society Director Jim Mykland about the Durgin family of Sandwich and their namesake covered bridge. Learn about the Durgin's influence on the political climate of Sandwich in the mid-nineteenth century as well as their role in the Underground Railroad.
Links from the conversation
Sandwich Historical Society
Kim interviews engineer Sean James, Senior Vice President at Hoyle, Tanner & Associates in Manchester about the twenty-one month-long rehabilitation of the Bath Bridge in Bath, New Hampshire. Sean walks us through the process of carrying out a $2 million project on a 375’ covered bridge and shares some interesting stories he learned along the way.
Links from the conversation
Hoyle, Tanner & Associates
Kim interviews two people who were instrumental in the 2021 rehabilitation of the Bement Bridge in Bradford. Town Administrator Karen Hambleton and engineer Josif Bicja from Hoyle Tanner share their experiences with the project and walk us through a $1.6 million renovation of an historic covered bridge.
Links from the conversation
Hoyle, Tanner & Associates
Town of Bradford
Links for Co...
Kim interviews engineer Bob Durfee of DuBois & King about bridgewright Peter Paddleford and his unique truss design. Learn why even though it was never patented, the Paddleford truss dominated covered bridge construction in northern New England for many years. Today there are only 22 Paddleford covered bridges left in New England.
Links from the conversation
DuBois & King, Inc.
The Paddleford Truss
Kim interviews bridgewright Tim Andrews about the 1999 rehabilitation of the Ashuelot Bridge in Winchester. This project won the first Palladio Award for covered bridges in 2003. Tim shares details about the work and interesting things they uncovered during the project.
Links from the conversation
Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Covered Bridges
Covered Bridges and the Birth of American Engineering...
Kim interviews architect Christopher Marston, project leader of the Historic American Engineering Record, and its National Covered Bridge Recording Project, through which over one hundred historic covered bridges were documented, including twelve in New Hampshire.
Links from the conversation
National Covered Bridges Recording Project
Library of Congress - HAER Collection
Kim interviews engineer Sean James, Senior Vice President at Hoyle, Tanner & Associates in Manchester about the Town Truss. This lattice truss design was first patented by Ithiel Town in 1820 and has since been regarded as one of the most significant developments in the history of covered bridges. Sean will explain why that is and tell us about some of New Hampshire’s Town Truss Bridges.
Links from the conversation
Kim interviews artist Craig Pursley, who lives and works on either side of the Bath Bridge in Bath, New Hampshire. Craig serves as a docent of sorts of the second oldest covered bridge in the state and shares local folklore and history of the historic landmark.
Links from the conversation
Craig Pursley, Artist
Links for Covered Bridges of New Hampshire
Photos of the Bath Bridge
Covered ...
For the inaugural episode, Kim interviews members of the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, including President Bill Caswell and co-vice presidents Bob Watts and Scott Wagner about their passion for covered bridges and their volunteer work with the NSPCB. You’ll learn about preservation efforts, how to visit and photograph covered bridges, arson reduction efforts, research, and archival efforts, and how your...
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