BLACKSMITH SHOP BRIDGE
Cornish, New Hampshire
- Location:
- Two miles east of N.H. Route 12A on Town House
Road in Cornish over Mill Brook.
- Style of Bridge:
- Multiple Kingpost truss
- Year of Construction:
- 1881
- Original Cost:
- $873
- Structural Characteristics:
- The bridge is 91'0" long with a clear span of 76'4".
It has an overall width of 14'3" with a roadway width
of 11'5" and a maximum vertical clearance of 9'3". It
is closed to vehicular traffic.
- Maintained By:
- Town of Cornish
- World Guide Number:
- 29-10-01
- New Hampshire Number:
- 21
-
- Historical Remarks:
-
The Blacksmith Shop Bridge was built by James Tasker. The
bridge was used by only one family and given its name because
of its close proximity to a local blacksmith shop that once stood
in an area know as Slab City. Milton Graton repaired and
restored the bridge in 1963. The southern end was raised two
feet and the northern end one foot. The floor and sheathing
were replaced. The bridge was reopened to pedestrian traffic
only and dedicated on September 18, 1983. Tasker's great-grandnephew
(from Connecticut) attended the opening. The
cost of repairing the bridge, in combination with the Dingleton
Hill covered bridge, was $30,000. The restoration of both
bridges was made possible with aid from a federal Historic
Preservation Fund matching grant from the National Park
Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior through the New
Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, the Putnam Foundation,
the Cecil Howard Charitable Trust, the Eva Gebhard-Gourgaud
Foundation, and the Town of Cornish. It is also
known as the Kenyon Hill Bridge. The Blacksmith Shop
Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Table of Contents
New Hampshire Bridges
New Hampshire Covered Bridges
Compiled and edited by
Richard G. Marshall
Chief System Planning
New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Color photographs by Arthur F. Rounds
1994