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Edgell Covered Bridge
Researched and Written by Janine Weins
(Posted 5/10/06)

Covered bridges are one of the enduring man-made icons of New England. Twenty percent of the nearly 800 covered bridges that remain in the United States are located in New Hampshire and Vermont. One of those bridges, the Edgell Bridge, is in Lyme, New Hampshire.

In the 1800s, when there were hundreds of covered bridges in New England, roads were not plowed, although they might be rolled to compact the snow if it was difficult to get a sleigh through the drifts and soft snow. The bridges were covered because during the winter tons of snow could build up on an open bridge and cause it to collapse. The useful life of a covered bridge, like that of the barns and houses built by the same craftsmen, was hundreds of years. Most of the covered bridges that have been lost over the past century have succumbed to ice jams, floods and fire—not to rot or deterioration.

The Edgell Bridge was built in 1885 on the Lyme Town Common under the guidance of an 18-year-old Lyme resident, Walter Piper. The cost of constructing the 132-foot clear span Town lattice style bridge was $1,825.77. The Town lattice truss design was invented and patented in the early 1820's by Ithiel Town, a Connecticut engineer. Trusses stabilize the bridge and form the interior side walls. Often the trusses are covered with weather boarding; the weather boarding then forms the exterior sidewalls of the bridge. The Town lattice was one of the most common truss designs used in New England Bridges. It is constructed of sawn planks about 3 inches thick and 12 inches wide that are placed in an overlapping diagonal pattern.

The Edgell Bridge was moved by oxen from the Lyme Common to its present location over Clay Brook. When the bridge was in place, it was possible to travel the River Road from Lyme to Orford. In 1936, the Edgell Bridge was almost lost when flood water washed the it off its northern abutment. Fortunately, crews were able to move the bridge back to its abutment and tie it in place with cables. In 1971, $23,829 was spent to replace the bridge deck and to true the structure. On February 21, 1982, the roof collapsed under the weight of heavy snow. During the following summer, the roof was repaired at a cost of $30,000.

More than 110 years after it was placed over Clay Brook, the Edgell Bridge continues to provide smooth and easy travel for those who choose the scenic River Road for their trips between Lyme and Orford. To see the Edgell Bridge, travel south on the River Road eight tenths of a mile from where the River Road intersects Route 10 in Orford, or north on the Lyme River Road to Clay Brook, which is just south of the Orford/Lyme town line.