SENTINEL PINE BRIDGE
Lincoln, New Hampshire
- East of U.S. Route 3 over the Flume Gorge at the pool in Lincoln.
- Style of Bridge:
- Year of Construction:
- Original Cost:
- Structural Characteristics:
- The bridge is 60'5" long with a clear span of 50'0". it has an
overall width of 8'2" with a roadway walking path width of 5'5"
and a maximum vertical clearance of 6'2". The bridge is restricted
to pedestrian traffic only.
- Maintained By:
- New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development
- World Guide Number:
- New Hampshire Number:
- Historical Remarks:
The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
built this bridge in 1939 and maintained it until it was
transferred to the state in 1948. The tall pine that gave the
bridge its name once stood near the rear of the pool as if it
were a sentry on guard. The great tree was over ninety feet
tall, five feet in diameter, and estimated to be 100 years old
when it was blown over in the 1938 hurricane. Workmen
took a sixty foot piece of the tree and placed it over the river
forty feet above the water just north of the pool. Taking
other trees that were blown down,they made the footbridge
over the pine to protect and preserve it. The bridge is put
together with wooden pegs. The shingles were handmade
by John G. Welch and Old Joe Poloquin, who was also
known as Indian Joe.
The Sentinel Pine Bridge is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Table of Contents
New Hampshire Bridges
New Hampshire Covered Bridges
Compiled and edited by
Richard G. Marshall
Chief System Planning
New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Color photographs by Arthur F. Rounds