The New Ipswich Historical Society held its annual meeting on September 14 at the Barrett House. The meeting was followed by a presentation on NH’s Covered Bridges by Kim Varney Chandler.
New Hampshire was once home to over 300 covered bridges. Today, there are over sixty authentic covered bridges in New Hampshire, forty-six of which are over a century old. These bridges exist solely because of the efforts of a small but powerful community that both recognized their significance and honored their tradition. Kim Varney Chandler shared an overview of covered bridges in the Granite State, along with interesting facts she uncovered while researching her 2022 book, Covered Bridges of New Hampshire, which was featured on WMUR-TV’s New Hampshire Chronicle. It was also honored with a NH Preservation Alliance Award for education, documentation, and advocacy; received honorable mention from the Foreword Indies; and was chosen as book of the week from the New Hampshire State Library.
A researcher, amateur genealogist, photographer, bird watcher, and dog lover, Chandler is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire (’91, ’96G). She is also a life member of the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges and a member of the New Hampshire Historical Society, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, the Historical Society of Cheshire County, and the Hancock Historical Society. When not immersed in the past, she works as a high school counselor. Except for two stints living south of the Mason-Dixon, she is a lifelong New Hampshire resident and currently lives in Hancock with her husband and hiking therapy dog.
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