WayfarrowContoocook Railroad Bridge
Covered bridge · Merrimack County, New Hampshire
Contoocook Railroad Bridge is a covered bridge in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, described in its record as oldest surviving covered railroad bridge. New Hampshire has 51 covered bridges on record at Wayfarrow, 9 of them in Merrimack County.
It was built in 1889, in the late 19th century, making it the 23rd oldest of the 33 in New Hampshire with a recorded construction date; it crosses Contoocook River; it is about 157 feet long (5th longest of 16 measured in New Hampshire).
Status check, 2026-11: The record's 1849 date is for the first railroad bridge at this site. The current double Town lattice bridge was built in 1889 on the older span's abutments, carried trains until 1962, and is called the oldest surviving covered railroad bridge in the US. One source (Clio) gives the length as 140 ft 1 in instead of 157 ft. Contoocook Railroad Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It stands at 43.2231° N, 71.7142° W.
Key facts
| Current structure built | 1889 |
|---|---|
| Crosses | Contoocook River |
| Length | 157 ft |
| Heritage designation | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
| National Register | Listed |
| Coordinates | 43.22306, -71.71417 |
Nearby places
- Contoocook Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Merrimack County · 0 mi
- Rowell's Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Merrimack County · 2.7 mi
- Dalton Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Merrimack County · 6.2 mi
- Henniker Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Merrimack County · 6.4 mi
- Waterloo Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Merrimack County · 8.5 mi
- Fessendenghost town · Hillsborough County · 8.8 mi
- East Weareghost town · Hillsborough County · 8.9 mi
- Everettghost town · Hillsborough County · 10 mi
- Sargentghost town · Hillsborough County · 12 mi
- Bement Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Merrimack County · 12.4 mi
- Shaw Cornerghost town · Merrimack County · 12.9 mi
- Hooksett Falls Bridgescovered bridge · Merrimack County · 15 mi
Questions
Where is Contoocook Railroad Bridge?
Contoocook Railroad Bridge is in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, at 43.2231, -71.7142.
How many covered bridges are in Merrimack County?
Merrimack County, New Hampshire has 9 covered bridges on record at Wayfarrow.
- Wikidata — Wikidata item (CC0)
- National Register of Historic Places — National Register of Historic Places record (public-domain)
- Wikidata — Wikipedia article (linked as a source; text not used) (CC0)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.