Dave's Collected History of Bartlett, N.H.
and other topics

www.bartlettNHheritage.org

Bartlett Covered Bridge Over The Saco River
an exercise in discovering who built it.

The Known Facts: The historic Bartlett Covered Bridge, which spans the Saco River, is one of only 53 covered bridges left in New Hampshire. Built in 1850, the bridge is 183 feet long with single span, paddleford type construction. The span was strengthened for vehicular traffic by the addition of a pair of laminated wooden arches in the 1920’s. This bridge carried traffic travelling on Route 302 over the Saco River for more than 80 years until it was replaced by the steel bridge in 1939. Dan, Nancy & Allison Wanek are the fourth owners of this historical property. (2026)

The Bartlett Covered Bridge over the Saco River in Bartlett, NH is widely attributed in local accounts to builder Amos A. Eastman or Leander Nute around 1851, though official town records from 1880 document a payment of $3,985.50 to John H. Leavitt for bridge construction at the site, 29 years after the proposed original construction. [1 ]

According to other sources, The Bartlett Covered Bridge (also called the Saco River Covered Bridge) was built by: Lorenzo “L.R.” Hubbard**, a well‑known New Hampshire bridge wright in1851.

Hubbard is AI generated fake information.

Hubbard built several bridges in Carroll County during the mid‑19th century, and the Bartlett Bridge is alleged to be one of his best‑known surviving works.

This editor tends to believe it is a Paddleford Truss style of construction, not a Hubbard style. This is a good example of fake Artificial Intelligence.

What information that exists is often inconclusive or conflicting.

It's a safe conclusion that there is no documented evidence of who the builder may have been.

SOURCES:

This history is synthesized from a combination of official state databases and historical preservation records, including: • Official State Records: The New Hampshire Department of Transportation and the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, which catalog the engineering details, official bridge numbering (Bridge #50), and design specifications (Paddleford truss). • Regional Tourism & Historical Guides: Historical timelines documented by local repositories like Visit New Hampshire and the White Mountains Attractions Association, which detail the bridge's 1939 retirement and 1950s town use. • Property & Business Records: Documentation from the Covered Bridge House (the adjacent historic property), which preserves the records of Isabelle Casinelli's 1965 land purchase and the subsequent conversion of the interior into the Covered Bridge Shoppe.

Further Research, Revised Opinion:

If we factor in the actual truss type, the builder probabilities shift:

Most likely (based on engineering evidence): Berry Brothers

They built Paddleford-style bridges.
Their work resembles the Bartlett bridge.
Even though the evidence is speculative, the structural match is meaningful.

Second most likely: Eastman

Modern summaries name him.
No truss conflict.
But no primary documentation.

Third: Leavitt

Only person with a documented payment. 1880 Bartlett town report shows a payment of $3,985.50 to Leavitt for “building a bridge across the Saco River”
But the payment may refer to a different Saco River crossing since the payment comes 29 years later.

Least likely: Hubbard

The bridge’s truss type rules him out almost entirely.

Ah, that explains it, Dave. Mystery solved—and here's the straight talk: What Likely Happened That statement almost certainly came from **another AI chatbot (Microsoft Copilot)** generating what's called a **hallucination**—confidently stating something that simply isn't true. This is a well-documented limitation of AI systems, and this case is a textbook example: 1. **The name "Lorenzo Hubbard" doesn't exist** in any historical record I can find—not NH bridge registries, town reports, genealogies of the era's bridgewrights, or Chandler's book references 2. **The formatting was convincing**: "Lorenzo 'L.R.' Hubbard, a well-known New Hampshire bridge wright" — the nickname in quotes, the plausible-sounding title, the specific date of 1851. Hallucinations often borrow real, verified details (the 1851 date IS the commonly cited construction year) and attach them to invented specifics 3. **This is exactly the failure mode**: AI models generate plausible-sounding combinations of words based on patterns, not verified facts. "Lorenzo" was a common 19th-century name; "Hubbard" is a real NH family name; bridge builders were called "bridgewrights" — stitch those together with a real bridge and date, and you get fiction that sounds authoritative ## The Tell-Tale Signs (in hindsight) - **No source cited** — legitimate claims about bridge builders come with town records, newspaper archives, or book citations - **Overly confident phrasing** — real historians hedge constantly ("reportedly," "may have," "records suggest") - **No corroboration anywhere** — a "well-known" builder whose name appears in literally zero records isn't well-known ## The Lesson (For All of Us) Any AI-generated factual claim—especially historical details with names, dates, and specifics—should be treated as **unverified until checked against primary sources**. Even mine. The difference in our conversation is that I ran the searches and told you honestly when I couldn't confirm something, rather than filling the gap with a confident fabrication. The irony here: the other AI gave you a confident wrong answer about exactly the kind of thing that requires documentation. Meanwhile, the truth—that the Bartlett Bridge's builder genuinely remains uncertain, with candidates like Leavitt, Eastman, the Berrys, and Leander Nute all in the mix—is actually a more interesting story. So wherever your research goes next, that name can be dropped entirely. It was never real.

The known history of three covered bridges at Bartlett, NH is at this link

TO SUM IT ALL UP: There is no documentation to definitively determine exactly who built the bridge. The documented John Leavitt payment occurred in 1880, twenty-nine years after the 1851 construction date. Hubbard was an artificial intelligence fabrication. The Berry Brothers idea is purely speculation with no evidentiary documentation. That leaves Mr Eastman as a good choice based entirely on local lore yet still, there is no documented proof of this available.

Click the pictures for a larger view.

bartlett bridge w thompsons inn sign_edited

bridges at bartlett now a tea room so it says on back

1/2

📜 Key historical notes

- The bridge originally carried the main road through Bartlett. - It was bypassed in 1939 when Route 302 was realigned. - In the 1960s it was restored and converted into a small retail space by Jules and Isabel Cassenlli who owned the house next door. Today that house is a B&B and the Shop still operates in the bridge. - It remains one of the most photographed structures in Bartlett. A.O. Eastman and others may have been sub-contracted by another contractor for the actual carpentry.

WHO WERE THE OTHER POSSIBLE BUILDERS?

I found no information about Leander Nute (1830-1894). A brief listing at the Bartlett Historical Society lists A.O. Eastman as an owner of a lumber mill located near the Glen railroad station.

John Leavitt - Covered Bridge Builder in NH

John H. Leavitt appears in historical records as a bridge builder active in New Hampshire during the 1880s, primarily in the White Mountains area around Bartlett and Conway.

Documented Bridges

BridgeLocationYear BuiltDetails

Saco River BridgeBartlett/Conway1880Paddleford truss with arches, single-span, 166'

Historical Evidence

Payment record: The 1880 Bartlett town report shows $3,985.50 paid to "John H. Leavitt, for the construction of the bridge across the Saco river"
Structure type: Paddleford truss design with added arches—a common style from circa 1850 onward in the region
Current status: The Bartlett Bridge was later sold to private owners (now part of the Covered Bridge House B&B). It remained on NH's official covered bridges list as #50 despite being decommissioned for vehicle traffic in 1939 when a steel bridge was built beside it

Context & Uncertainty

There's some historical debate about the exact origins:

The Bartlett Bridge (built ~1851) was originally attributed to unknown builders, with speculation about the Berry brothers and Amos Eastman.
The Leavitt payment record from 1880 may represent a reconstruction or repair rather than original construction
Whether Leavitt worked independently or alongside other bridgewrights like the Berrys is unclear

Compared to the Berry family (who built 7+ bridges between 1850-1885), Leavitt's documented footprint is smaller—likely one or two major projects—but he was active in the same geographic area during overlapping time periods.

The Berry Bridgewright Family

The "Berry brothers" refers to Jacob H. Berry and Horace W. Berry, the sons of Jacob Emerson Berry. Together as a family operation, they constructed multiple covered bridges in the Mount Washington Valley area of New Hampshire between 1850 and 1885.

Bridges Attributed to the Berry Family

BridgeLocationYear BuiltStatus

Saco River BridgeConway1850Lost in flood (1869)

Durgin BridgeSandwich1869Still standing

Swift River BridgeConway1870Still standing

Whittier BridgeOssipeec. 1870Uncertain attribution

Cathedral Ledge BridgeNorth Conway1875Removed 1951

Porter-Parsonfield BridgeMaine border1876Still standing

East Limington BridgeMaine1885Still standing

Key Points

Jacob Emerson Berry was the patriarch, born in 1802 in Denmark, Maine, just over the NH border near Conway
After his death, Jacob H. Berry continued building bridges independently
Not all attributions are definitively proven—some sources express uncertainty about certain bridges (like the Whittier Bridge)
A handful of their bridges remain today in the region

The Swift River Bridge and Durgin Bridge are among the more notable surviving examples. New Hampshire currently has roughly 53 covered bridges left in the state, making the Berry family's work particularly historically significant.

Want me to dig up more details on any specific bridge, or look into where you can visit the remaining Berry-built structures?

glen covered bridge and Rte 302 new bridge 2015.png

Other Types of Covered Bridges

Ithiel Town (1784-1844)

Ithiel Town was one of the most influential architects and engineers of the early 19th century. Born in Thompson, Connecticut, in 1784, in his early 20s he studied architecture in Boston with renowned architect and builder Asher Benjamin. Soon after, Town moved to New Haven and began his own business. In 1820, Town received a patent on his wooden truss bridge—a design that made him famous in the architectural community. Town (in partnership with Andrew Jackson Davis), then went on to form one of the first architectural firms in the United States. Among his most famous designs are the Connecticut State Capitol in New Haven, the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, and the State House in Raleigh, North Carolina.

A Town-lattice span bridge is a type of truss bridge built from a dense web of light, diagonal wooden planks rather than heavy, expensive timbers.

Key Characteristics

Inventor: Patented in 1820 by American architect and civil engineer Ithiel Town.

Lattice Web: Uses many small, closely spaced diagonal planks (usually 3 inches thick and 12 inches wide) intersecting at 45 to 60-degree angles.

Chords: Features multiple heavy top and bottom parallel horizontal chords (usually four total) that bind the diagonal lattice web together.

Fasteners: Uses wooden pegs called trunnels (often kiln-dried ash) driven into bored holes at each intersection instead of expensive iron bolts or complex joints.

No Vertical Members: Relies entirely on the continuous diagonal grid with no vertical posts dividing the truss sections.

Labor and Cost: Designed to be built quickly and cheaply using local, lower-skilled labor and standard dimension lumber rather than master carpenters.

Span Capacity: Efficiently achieves short-to-medium spans, typically handling distances up to 200 feet.

paddleford

The Paddleford truss bridge, designed by millwright Peter Paddleford in the mid-19th century, is a highly distinct and rigid type of wooden timber bridge. Popular primarily across northern New England (New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont), it is technically characterized as a multiple kingpost variant with specialized, stiffening counterbraces.

Its structural behavior acts more like a stiff frame than a flexible truss, which historically allowed builders to achieve great span strength while using less timber.

Core Structural Characteristics

Interlocking Counterbraces: The defining characteristic of a Paddleford truss is its use of a long counterbrace that spans across multiple panels. It acts as a continuous stiffening member fastened securely to the inside faces of the frame.

Tensile Wood Design: In traditional wood trusses, diagonal braces handle compression forces. Paddleford uniquely designed his interlocking counterbraces to work in both compression and tension. He attempted to manipulate wood in ways that engineers later accomplished using iron rods.

Complicated Joinery: Rather than using simple iron bolts or wedges to connect parts, the elements are locked together into a singular rigid unit. Channels are notched directly into the inner chord planks, braces, and vertical posts where they intersect. This required exceptional hand-tool craftsmanship from the bridge wrights.

Reduced Member Sizes: Because the interlocking lap joints create extreme structural rigidity, Paddleford bridges feature much smaller internal timber sizes (often just 3" x 8" cross braces) compared to other contemporary designs (which used heavy 8" x 8" or 10" x 10" timbers).

Aesthetic & General Design Features

Covered Canopy: Because they are made entirely of wood, surviving historical spans feature heavy wooden vertical plank siding and a metal roof with wide overhangs to shield the internal truss from rot.

Added Laminated Arches: Over the decades, many Paddleford bridges that remained open to traffic were retrofitted with massive laminated wooden arches running down the center or sides. These arches take on the heavy bending moments, allowing the historical bridges to support modern vehicular loads (like fire trucks).

Current Status: Because the design was never patented (due to legal threats over its perceived similarity to the Long truss), it was only built regionally. There are roughly 22 authentic Paddleford truss bridges left in the world. Notable surviving examples include the Albany Covered Bridge and the Swiftwater Covered Bridge in New Hampshire.

Peter Paddleford was born in Enfield, New Hampshire on September 14, 1785. He moved with his father, Philip, to Monroe, New Hampshire, in the early 1800s. In 1816, the younger Paddleford was issued US Patent 2,594X. The spinning device patented is not recorded as having been produced In 1830 Peter moved to Littleton, New Hampshire, where he spent most of his remaining years.

Bridge spanning the Sunday River, Oxford County, Maine

In 1833, Paddleford unsuccessfully participated in a bid to build a bridge from Montreal, Canada island In other bridges, Paddleford first utilized the Long truss design, but later created his own. This was challenged by others, who thought that Paddleford had stolen from the earlier designer. Paddleford never recorded his patent, and it was used by others. His truss "superficially resembles the Long truss", but they had different purposes. Paddleford's design saw wide use, especially in New Hampshire, Orleans County, Vermont, and Caledonia County, Vermont

His first self-designed bridge was possibly Joel's Bridge in Conway, New Hampshire, which was constructed in 1846, working in partnership with his son Philip. (Joel's Bridge—also known as the Smith-Eastman Bridge—was a historic covered bridge built across the Saco River in Conway, New Hampshire, that was destroyed by arson on July 5, 1975). Peter Paddleford retired in 1849, although Philip continued to build bridges. Paddleford died on October 18, 1859.

Here are the most prominent architectural covered bridge designs, grouped by their structural mechanics.

1. The Heavy Classics (Arches & Braced Frames)

These designs combined traditional European timber frames with heavy arches to achieve long spans.

Burr Truss: Patented by Theodore Burr in 1804, this is the most popular covered bridge design in America. It combines a standard wooden kingpost truss with a massive, load-bearing laminated wooden arch sandwiched between the trusses. The arch carries the heavy weights, while the truss keeps the bridge rigid.
Long Truss: Patented by Stephen H. Long in 1830, this was the first design to rely entirely on mathematical engineering principles. It features a series of wooden Xs framed by vertical posts, using adjustable wooden wedges driven into the joints to keep the timbers under constant tension without needing a heavy arch.

2. The Simple & Regional Designs

These systems used simpler geometry and smaller timbers, making them easier for local communities to build.

Town Lattice: Patented by Ithiel Town in 1820, this design completely revolutionized bridge building. It uses an uninterrupted web of crisscrossed wooden planks secured by large wooden pegs called trunnels (tree-nails). Because it uses standard, lightweight lumber and requires no complex joinery, it could be built quickly by ordinary carpenters.
Kingpost & Queenpost: These are the oldest and simplest truss forms. A Kingpost utilizes a single vertical post in the center flanked by two diagonal braces forming a single triangle. A Queenpost adds a horizontal top chord to stretch the center, forming a rectangular span flanked by triangles. They are only suitable for short spans.
Haupt Truss: Created by Herman Haupt, this rare design features a lattice of braces reinforced by heavy diagonal counterbraces stretching from the center top to the bottom corners, creating extreme resistance to sagging.

3. The Iron Transitions (Wood-and-Metal Hybrids)

As the Industrial Revolution progressed, engineers began replacing wooden tension members with manufactured iron components.

Howe Truss: Patented by William Howe in 1840, this design represents the transition from wood to iron engineering. It looks identical to a Long truss, but replaces the vertical wooden posts with adjustable iron tie rods. Turnbuckles on the iron rods allowed crews to easily tighten the bridge as the wood warped over time.
Pratt & Whipple Trusses: Later variants that flipped the Howe mechanics, using wooden vertical posts (compression) and diagonal iron rods (tension). These designs laid the exact structural groundwork for the all-metal railway bridges that followed.