Swiftwater Covered Bridge
Located on a very picturesque portion of the river, the famous covered bridge overlooks Swiftwater Falls, where the Wild Ammounoosuc River cascades 15 feet over rocky ledges and into a series of deep, cool pools. Along the length of the Swiftwater covered bridge are viewports allowing pedestrians to take in views of the Wild Ammonusuc River both up and down stream.
Visit the Swiftwater Covered Bridge on a hot day and you will see dozens of people of all ages enjoying a swim at the falls just downstream. Relaxing in the sun on the open ledges beside cold clear mountain water, the view from this area is one of the best of any of the covered bridges.
Of Paddleford Truss construction, The Swiftwater Covered Bridge is maintained by the town of Bath NH and one of only 20 remaining Paddleford Truss bridges in the world.
Construction of the Swiftwater Covered Bridge.
Built in 1849, the Swiftwater Covered Bridge is 158-feet 4-inches long with clear spans of 77-feet 6-inches and 57-feet 6-inches, and is 21-feet wide. The actual roadway width of the Swiftwater Covered Bridge is 14-Feet 6-inches with a maximum verticle clearance of 12-feet 9 -inches.
This Swiftwater Covered Bridge is the fourth covered bridge to cross the Wild Ammonoosuc River at this location. The first Swiftwater Bridge was built in 1810, carried away in 1818 by a flooding Wild Ammonusuc River.
The second Swiftwater Covered bridge was destroyed by another flood in 1828. A third covered bridge at Swiftwater was erected in 1829.In 1849 the bridge was dismantled and replaced by the current fourth Swiftwater Covered bridge.
In 1977 Baths’ current Swiftwater Covered Bridge was rebuilt at a cost of $34,347 shared by the state and town. It's historic Paddleford Truss construction was carefully preserved.
Historically, the Wild Ammonoosuc River was used to float logs from the surrounding forest to sawmills in the Bath area, and log jams were a common danger to covered bridges.There is an interesting story that relates how dynamite was used to break up a log jam near the bridge. The blast cleared the log jam - but logs had to be removed from the roof of the covered bridge!
Swiftwater Covered Bridge Monument
The Swiftwater Covered Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has a World Guide number of 29-05-02 and is New Hampshire number 29.
At the head of the Swiftwater Covered Bridge is a granite monument and plac that reads:
Swiftwater Bridge
World Guide No. 29-05-02
NH Covered Bridge No. 29
Built in 1849Rehabilitated in 1998-1999
byTHE TOWN OF BATH
With major funding by theNew Hampshire Department of TransportationEngineer: Hoyle, Tanner, & AssociatesManchester, NH
Contractor: Wright Construction Company, Inc.Mt. Holly, VT
This bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
and is one of only 20 remaining Paddleford Truss
covered bridges in the world
To enjoy more fully the beauty of the location, drive across the bridge and park on the large dirt parking on the left. A short path leads through the underbrush and out onto the ledges and rocky beach of the Wild Ammonoosuc River.