MERRIMACK – A monument for a former town bridge was dedicated Aug. 16 by the Merrimack Heritage Commission, a volunteer group dedicated to preserving the town’s historic resources.

The monument was installed at the site of the old Fields Seaverns/Severns Covered Bridge. Both spellings, Seaverns and Severns, were used at one time or another.

The location of the newly installed, bronze-like, imprinted acrylic plaque – which is secured to a large, flat-faced boulder – is near the intersection of Seaverns Bridge Road and Amherst Road. The site is often used today as a canoe launch.

Many newer residents of Merrimack don’t realize that there ever was a covered bridge at the intersection. The original bridge spanned over the Souhegan River. A structure called “the upper bridge” was authorized at a town meeting in 1752.

The same year, the town voted for Turkey Hill Bridge, called “the lower bridge,” and a Souhegan Village Bridge, the first to be constructed and one that was located by the current fire station on Daniel Webster Highway.

The Fields Bridge may have been built by the town of Amherst, and in 1776, it was voted to pay for half of the rebuilding. It was rebuilt or repaired many times until 1802, when a new one was built for $701.87. It wasn’t until 1859 that the “covered bridge” was built by James White. It was 116 feet long and 16 feet wide. The design was a single lattice truss, patented by Ithiel Town in 1820.

Bridges were covered to protect the planking from the elements. In the early days of its existence, the bridge had to be “snowed” during the winter to allow wagons and sleighs to cross over a layer of applied snow. With the advent of automobiles, the process of coating it with snow was no longer required.

This bridge connected Merrimack to Amherst, although one Merrimack home was built on the other side. This farm was originally owned by Henry Fields, then by several generations of the Fields family, and later the Severns family (also spelled Seaverns) and is called “Hickory Hollow.”

For many years, Amherst and Merrimack paid half the maintenance of the bridge. The town line does not follow the river but follows a straight line, resulting in many people along Seaverns Bridge Road owning land in both towns. Each town must appoint people to “walk the line” each year to verify the boundary.

In 1967, Merrimack had two covered bridges, since Turkey Hill Bridge also had been covered by then. Merrimack was one of only three towns in New Hampshire with two of these picturesque constructions.

However, on June 7, 1967, tragedy struck and the Fields Bridge was burned by arsonists.

It was not reported immediately, because the first witness, at about midnight, found that his phone lines, which crossed the bridge, were destroyed in the fire.

The glow was seen 5 miles away, but by the time the firefighters arrived to pump water from the river, it was too late to save the bridge.

On April 27, 1968, the Turkey Hill Covered Bridge also was destroyed by arsonists. Although three juveniles were charged in each of these tragedies, it appears they were not given severe enough punishment to suit many of the town residents.

Due to the critical need for access across Turkey Hill Road, plans were made quickly to replace it with a concrete bridge not vulnerable to fires. The U.S. Army constructed Bailey Bridge at that location. The bridge at Turkey Hill was built in 1971, and recently replaced again with a wider span. There is a monument in the adjacent Weston Park for this covered bridge.

The Seaverns Bridge was not replaced, due to the great cost and the fact that Turkey Hill was more critical. There was talk of moving the Bailey Bridge there, when it was no longer needed at Turkey Hill, but those plans did not materialize. Only one Merrimack family lived on the other side of Seaverns, and there was little traffic going across it.

However, Dr. Edwin Fricke, his wife and his children did live across the bridge on County Road, and the children could not get to the school buses. He and his older son built three temporary foot bridges across the river, all of which were washed out by spring floods or ice dams. At that point, his children went to school in Nashua and Amherst until they graduated. The “Fricke Foot Bridges” went down in history. Finally, when a developer wanted to build on the western side of the bridge, a new concrete bridge was erected to replace the old covered bridge.

In 1990, when people still mourned the loss of both covered bridges, a popular move was made to build a modern one. Town employees, on their own time, constructed a covered bridge on Stowell Road in the northwest corner of town, crossing Baboosic Brook from Parkhurst Road and going into Bedford at the site of the earlier Stowell Mill. It stands today as a memory to the covered-bridge era in Merrimack. There are many other covered bridges around New England, built during the early 1800s, but the newest one is in Merrimack on Stowell Road.

Those who want to know more about Merrimack’s covered bridges or other topics can view documents, photos and artifacts at the Merrimack Historical Society, 520 Boston Post Road.

The Merrimack Heritage Commission is closely affiliated with the society. Both organizations welcome volunteers.

The Merrimack Historical Society is open 9 a.m.-noon Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and 6-8 p.m. Tuesday evenings, April through November. For more information on either organization, visit www.merrimackhistory.org.

Newsletter