The Kenyon Bridge, also known as the Blacksmith Shop Bridge, is a historic
covered bridge
A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...
spanning Mill Brook near Town House Road in
Cornish, New Hampshire
Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,616 at the 2020 census. Cornish has four covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair.
History
The town was granted in 1763 and containe ...
, United States. Built in 1882, it is one of New Hampshire's few surviving 19th-century covered bridges. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1978.
Description and history
The Kenyon Bridge is located in a wooded rural setting, a short way east of Town House Road about south of its junction with Center Road. It spans Mill Brook in a roughly east-west orientation. It is long and wide, with a roadbed long and wide. The bridge rests on dry-laid stone abutments. The bridge's multiple
kingpost trusses are sheltered by a sheet metal roof, with vertical plank siding covering the lower 1/3 of the trusses. Each truss consists of 28 panel sections between 29 posts.
[
The bridge was built in 1882 by James Frederick Tasker (1826–1903), a local builder well known for his bridges. Its historic name, Blacksmith Shop Bridge, derives from a shop nearby owned by blacksmith John Fellows.][ It underwent a major rehabilitation in 1963. It is now closed to vehicular traffic, but open to pedestrians. On Town House Rd, at the approximate DD coordinates of 43.463, -72.3539, a sign for Covered Bridge No. 21 marks this bridge.]
Images
DETAIL EASTERN ABUTMENT, EAST NORTHEAST, 60 DEGREES. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-10.tif, (image 1 of 14)
2003
Detail: eastern abutment, east-northeast 60° ( HAER)
DETAIL MIDSPAN, SOUTH PANEL. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-9.tif, (image 2 of 14)
2003
Detail: midspan, south panel ( HAER)
FRAMING DETAIL, NORTH PANEL. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-8.tif, (image 3 of 14)
2003
Framing detail: north panel ( HAER)
DOWNSTREAM ELEVATION, LOOKING NORTH. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-13.tif, (image 4 of 14)
2003
Downstream elevation, looking north ( HAER)
END POST DETAIL, WEST END. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-7.tif, (image 5 of 14)
2003
End post detail: west end ( HAER)
INTERIOR VIEW FROM WEST. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-4.tif, (image 6 of 14)
2003
Interior view from the west ( HAER)
INTERIOR VIEW, EAST PORTAL, LOOKING EAST. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-6.tif, (image 7 of 14)
2003
Interior view, east portal, looking east ( HAER)
INTERIOR VIEW, LOOKING WEST. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-5.tif, (image 8 of 14)
2003
Interior view, looking west ( HAER)
Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City (Sullivan County, New Hampshire).jpg, (image 9 of 14)
2003
( HAER)
PERSPECTIVE SHOWING ROADWAY FROM WEST, LOOKING EAST. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-3.tif, (image 10 of 14)
2003
Perspective showing roadway from the west, looking east ( HAER)
PERSPECTIVE, NORTHWEST BY 295 DEGREES. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-11.tif, (image 11 of 14)
2003
Perspective, northwest by 295° ( HAER)
PORTAL, EAST ELEVATION. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-2.tif, (image 12 of 14)
2003
Portal, east elevation ( HAER)
PORTAL, WEST ELEVATION, BEARING DUE EAST. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-1.tif, (image 13 of 14)
2003
Portal, west elevation, bearing due east ( HAER)
UPSTREAM ELEVATION, BEARING SOUTHWEST 215 DEGREES. - Kenyon Bridge, Spanning Mill Brook, Town House Road, Cornish City, Sullivan County, NH HAER NH-40-12.tif, (image 14 of 14)
2003
Upstream elevation, bearing southwest 215° ( HAER)
See also
Other covered bridges in Cornish
* Blow-Me-Down Covered Bridge
* Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge
* Dingleton Hill Covered Bridge
Covered bridges in nearby West Windsor, Vermont
West Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,344 at the 2020 census.
It was known for its Ascutney Mountain Resort, which closed in 2010 and was bought by its citizens in 2015.
Geography
According to t ...
* Best's Covered Bridge
*Bowers Covered Bridge
The Bowers Covered Bridge ''(aka'' Brownsville Bridge) is a historic covered bridge, carrying Bible Hill Road across Mill Brook in the Brownsville section of West Windsor, Vermont. Built in 1919, it has a laminated-arch deck covered by a post- ...
Other bridges elsewhere
* List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in New Hampshire
*
*
*List of covered bridges in Vermont
Below is a list of covered bridges in Vermont. There are just over 100 authentic covered bridges in the U.S. state of Vermont, giving the state both the highest number of covered bridges per square mile and per capita in the United States, as we ...
*List of crossings of the Connecticut River
This is a list of bridges and other crossings of the Connecticut River from its mouth at Long Island Sound upstream to its source at the Connecticut Lakes. The list includes current road and rail crossings, as well as ferries carrying a state hig ...
*List of New Hampshire covered bridges
This is a list of New Hampshire covered bridges, old, new, and restored. There are 58 historic wooden covered bridges currently standing and assigned official numbers by the U.S. state of New Hampshire. There are additional covered bridges exta ...
*
References
External links
New Hampshire DHR page on the bridge (dated info)
*
{{NRHP in Sullivan County, New Hampshire
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
Bridges completed in 1882
Bridges in Sullivan County, New Hampshire
Historic American Engineering Record in New Hampshire
National Register of Historic Places in Sullivan County, New Hampshire
Cornish, New Hampshire
Wooden bridges in New Hampshire
Covered bridges in New Hampshire
King post truss bridges in the United States