Goffstown Covered Railroad Bridge

Goffstown’s covered railroad bridge was a rare New Hampshire structure that carried rail traffic over the Piscataquog River near Main Street. Built in 1901 by the Boston and Maine Railroad to replace an earlier crossing from about 1850, it was a single-span truss combining Town lattice, Pratt, and laminated arch elements. Its granite abutments, later capped in concrete, still remain. Recognized for its rarity, the bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, but a deliberately set fire destroyed it on August 16, 1976. The railroad did not rebuild, and the line was abandoned by February 1981.

Goffstown, New Hampshire · United States