Reprinted from the March 11, 1998 issue of Journal Opinion.

By Bill Dolack

It isn't exactly Bill Clinton's "bridge to the 21st Century." In fact, the Haverhill-Bath covered bridge--the oldest documented covered bridge remaining in America--is more a bridge to the early 19th Century.

Residents and officials in the North Country towns of Haverhill and Bath have banded together to preserve the structure--approved in 1827, completed in 1829, and entered on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1977--before the two-span bridge falls prey to vandals, deterioration, or the state's lack of interest.

The bridge, which is posted for a three-ton limit, is listing slightly upriver and shakes noticeably whenever a car makes the rumbling 256-foot trip across the Ammonoosuc River, a river whose headwaters begin on majestic Mount Washington.Years of graffiti are etched into the beams and planks of the bridge. Nail heads protrude from the flooring where years of travel have worn the boards down. Pigeons call the rafters home, leaving signs of their presence along the cave-like roadway and enclosed sidewalk. Vehicles routinely ignore the weight limit and trucks are often seen crossing the rickety structure.

The bridge's main enemy, however, may be lack of action by the State of New Hampshire. Several years ago a six-year-old Bath girl was struck by a car as she waited for her school bus. The ambulance from Woodsville--the Haverhill precinct where the bridge is located--was unable to cross the span because of the weight limitations and was forced to take a nearly 20-mile circuitous route through Vermont to reach the accident scene. The child died en route to the hospital.

After years of discussion, the state finally agreed to construct a new steel and concrete bridge just downstream from the covered bridge, near the confluence of the Ammonoosuc and Connecticut Rivers. This, however, put in jeopardy the future of the historic covered bridge, which has stood for 169 years as a sentinel to wayfarers from points north coming to the railroad community of Woodsville. The rerouting of Route 135 from the covered bridge to the new span removes the old bridge from the state's bailiwick.

"There is a large group of people (locally) who want to preserve the integrity of the bridge as well as find new uses for it," said Glenn English, Town Manager for Haverhill.He and others see the bridge not just as a piece of history that needs to be preserved but also as a potential economic goldmine. The nearby covered bridge in Bath Village, next to The Brick Store--the oldest general store in the country--attracts hundreds of tourists each year. English can see the same thing happening in Woodsville.

"I told the covered bridge committee that they need to build a real grass roots support for the restoration of this bridge," said English. "We're talking about some money being committed by Bath and Haverhill. We're talking about state money and federal grants. We've got to build some real support for this."

A Dec. 22, 1997 meeting at the American Legion building--another neighbor of the covered bridge--drew a large crowd of spectators interested in hearing plans for the economic revival of Woodsville's downtown area. The consensus was that the historic bridge will be the centerpiece of that revival. Much needs to be done, however, including eventually removing the large water tank situated just feet from the bridge's entrance.

It is fitting that a bridge constructed during the administration of President Andrew Jackson should be central to the revitalization of Woodsville and the surrounding area. History permeates the region, and the covered bridge is emblematic of that heritage.

Construction on the Town lattice truss bridge began in 1827, 22 years after Ithiel Town patented the revolutionary design, and was completed two years later. The lattice is pinned together with large "tree nails" called trunnels.The bridge is a saltbox type, with the low, sloping roof covering an enclosed walkway on the upriver side of the bridge.

While there are four covered bridges in Pennsylvania that claim an earlier construction date, the Haverhill-Bath bridge can produce documentation to back the 1829 date. Also, the span has never been replaced.

Author Richard Sanders Allen, in his "Covered Bridges of the Northeast," said the Haverhill-Bath bridge "was the forerunner of more than two hundred (covered bridges) which once dotted the landscape of the Granite State..."

Now only 52 remain in the state, placing New Hampshire sixth among states in terms of the number of covered bridges remaining. Pennsylvania leads the list with 231, followed by Ohio (157), Indiana (103), Vermont (100), and Oregon (54).

The covered bridge has long held the fascination of the American people.It represents a slowly vanishing link to our past, a bond with a time of clean water, clean air and clean living.

Part of that fascination has to do with the question of why covered bridges were built with roofs. The most logical reason appears to be to protect the understructure of the bridge from the elements. Other reasons put forth over the years include keeping the oiled floor of the bridge dry so it wouldn't be slippery, to strengthen the structure, to give the bridge a barn-like appearance so animals wouldn't shy away when crossing a river, to keep the timber in the bridge from drying out in the summer, and to keep the snow off the bridge flooring.

Covered bridges were often called "kissing bridges." Couples were able to steal a kiss or quick embrace in the darkness of the bridge as they crossed in a horse-drawn buggy.

One old story tells about a tongue-tied preacher who was courting a young local woman named Mehitabel. "H-h-hitty," he stammered, as they sat in his buggy parked on a covered bridge. "Marry, will you hitty me?" he finally blurted out.Unfortunately, Mehitabel's younger brother was sitting in the rafters, and he broke out in loud guffaws at the preacher's comedic attempt at proposing marriage. The young couple, thoroughly embarrassed, beat a hasty retreat.

The Haverhill-Bath Covered Bridge Committee meets once a month to brainstorm ideas for raising funds to save the bridge so future generations will have more than just memories and old stories. A handcrafted quilt, donated by committee chair Lee Kryger--who is also a next door neighbor to the bridge--was raffled, raising about $1,000. A commemorative stamp cancellation last fall kept Woodsville Post Master Chris Demers busy stamping envelopes on the bridge. Other ideas in the works include a street fair, as well as the sale of photographs, postcards, notepads, and other memorabilia.The group also sees the possibility of holding weddings and craft shows on the bridge once the new bridge is constructed and the covered bridge is closed to vehicular traffic.

As part of the construction plan already underway, the nearby railroad underpass crossing over Route 135, the main access to the bridge, is being eliminated. This will open the way to the bridge for tour buses.

Although the group is small, numbering less than a dozen, they are a determined lot. They stay busy researching state and federal grants that may be available to help renovate the bridge. Noted covered bridge expert Arnold Graton estimates the cost of a total restoration of the bridge at nearly $1.5 million. A second option is to replace the bridges sagging arches at a cost of up to $400,000.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has offered the two towns--which jointly own the bridge--only $50,000 as a payment in lieu of what it would cost the state to demolish the covered bridge once the new bridge is completed.

Town officials, committee members, and Graton all contend that the proposed payment is far too low. "The state couldn't get that bridge out of there for $50,000," Graton said.

Graton is the son of the late Milton S. Graton, a man who spent decades rebuilding covered bridges across the country. Former CBS newsman Charles Kuralt watched the elder Graton rebuild the historic Bedell covered bridge a few miles down the Connecticut River in Haverhill.

Said Kuralt in a 1978 letter published in Graton's book: "By flood, and by neglect, America has lost half her covered bridges in the past 20 years.I am one of those who believes this is the kind of loss a great country can't afford; if we lose touch entirely with our past, we must resign ourselves to a bland and maybe even a bleak future. That is why I so much admire Milton Graton... In an age in which we do so many things fast, and wrong, Milton Graton still does things slowly, and right."

As the winter continues and the coming spring begins its approach, the covered bridge committee continues their work, striving to follow in the footsteps of Milton Graton.They are determined to save this vital link with America's past, to preserve this historical structure for future generations.