This old building that I believe contained horse stables is in New Boston, NH. I used to pass it on my way to work and loved the architecture. The single story portion on the right stretches way down beyond the limit of the photo. Looking at it, I wonder about who owned it and used it. There were some horses in a pasture next to it, but they’re housed in a separate barn. This building is vacant and the sign on the front says it’s for sale or rent.
Earlier this year, I showed the barn window from the outside. Here it isfrom inside and we’ve added a few elements.
The model plane was made by my father years ago. He was cleaning things out this summer and no longer wanted it. It narrowly missed going out with the junk hauler.
The miniature station wagon and van were souvenirs from California and Key West. They were in the house but we were cleaning up and decided it was time for them to relocate.
The ship was in the last image of the window. It came from a wooden kit model that my grandfather got in the 1960s. He never did much with it and gave it to me to build around 15 years ago. It’s the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle.
The item in the shape of a leaf is supposed to be a bird feeder. It was also in the previous image. The idea is that you put fruit in the center and the birds eat the fruit. It never quite worked out that way.
Originally built in 1845, the bridge burned in a suspicious fire May 25, 1993. The town was described as being “devastated’ at the loss. Covered bridges are not the most practical means to cross a river in the modern age and the town and state made plans to replace it with a modern bridge made from concrete and steel.
The residents of Newport petitioned the town and state to replace the bridge with a wooden covered bridge, raising thousands of dollars to cover the difference in cost. A little more than a year later, on Columbus Day weekend, the new bridge was pulled into place by a team of oxen. I spent about an hour trying to locate a photo of the oxen pulling the bridge but was unsuccessful. I did however find this video of oxen pulling a different bridge into place.
This was the first bridge on my last covered bridges of New Hampshire outing. There are only three photos of this bridge because other than the one image inside the bridge, I did not venture to walk around inside. There was some moderate traffic, and it moves quickly through the bridge. Self-preservation kicked in.
I spotted this railroad bridge either in or near Lancaster, NH. I fell in love with that reflection in the water..
I’m not sure what this is. I photographed it in late September in the White Mountains well north of our home. More recently, it’s lined the paths wehre I routinely hike. I like that nature can still put out wild flowers even as autumn progresses..
Most of the bridges that I photographed were on side roads or out of the way places. There were usually only a few homes nearby, if any. The Mechanic Street Bridge is located in a busy residential neighborhood.
The bridge spans Israel’s River. The river provided water power for local mills. As the mills and the town grew, a bridge built in the 1780s quickly became inadequate.
This bridge was constructed in 1862 to replace the original bridge. An interpretive plaque on the bridge said that this bridge allowed horses and carriages to cross at a faster speed, but the State’s history said that in that same year, the citizens voted to put signs on the bridge prohibiting driving across the bridge at a pace faster than a walk. So did people get to go faster on the new bridge, or not?
I stopped to take a photo of something across the street and was really struck by the colors in this scene. This was made in New Boston, NH.
Saturday, I finished photographing the last of the historic covered bridges listed in the State’s book. It was a long day that involved going to six covered bridges in three towns that were more spread out than usual. Five were ones that I had not previously photographed and one was a reshoot of my favorite bridge. (More on my favorite bridge in another post.) The last time I was in this area, I was in a t-shirt and shorts and kept my time in the sun short. On Saturday, I had on multiple layers and saw snow in some parts of the state at higher elevations.
I still need to finish editing and will show the final bridges over the next couple of weeks. I also plan to return to some of them in the future. There is at least one that I believe will be decorated with holiday lights in December. Early next spring, I plan to visit the ones in the Albany and Conway area where the rivers are filled with run off from the snow melting on the White Mountains.
Back in the 1860s or 1870s, this area needed a bridge to connect the two towns. An enterprising company called “The Union Bridge Company” built and operated it until 1908 when a log jam destroyed the bridge. A ferry then operated for three years until a new bridge could be built.
The towns on either side of the “new” bridge each contributed $2,500 for the cost. The state’s history says that another $1,678 was “raised by subscription”. I’m not sure if that means people contributed to the bridge and if there was any additional benefit to them beside not having to use a ferry service.
In 1969, a truck loaded with highway salt fell through the floor of the bridge. The rear of the truck rested on the ice and the front was caught on a piece of the bridge. Meanwhile, salt spilled out of the truck, weakening the ice below.
They had to raise the truck to disengage it from the bridge and then lower it carefully onto the now weakened ice. (How it avoided going to the bottom of the river, I’ll never know.) It was dragged off the weak part of the ice, turned upright and then taken off the ice.
In more recent times, it’s had difficulties (plural) when GPS directs truck drivers across it. I included this image from The Caledonian Record website.
I made this almost two weeks ago. I liked that it captures both these trees in beautiful color and the moon in a single image.
