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. Join author and photographer Kim Varney Chandler as she shares 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. Learn more about both existing and lost covered bridges in your area.  Sponsored by the NH Humanities and the Friends of the Meredith Library.

Presented by Kim Varney Chandler.  

Kim Varney Chandler is a researcher, amateur genealogist, photographer, bird watcher, and dog lover, and is the author of the book Covered Bridges of New Hampshire, published by Peter E. Randall Publisher in 2022. She is a two-time graduate of the University of New Hampshire (‘91, ‘96G). When not immersed in the past, Kim works as a high school counselor. She is a lifelong resident of New Hampshire except for two stints living south of the Mason-Dixon. She lives in Hancock with her husband Marshell and Pemi the hiking therapy dog.  She has received extensive press coverage for Covered Bridges of New Hampshire, including a feature piece on WMUR-TV’s New Hampshire Chronicle. Covered Bridges of New Hampshire was honored with a NH Preservation Alliance Award for education, documentation, and advocacy, and the accompanying podcast placed second in the NH Press Association Awards. The book received honorable mention from the Foreword Indies and was chosen as book of the week from the New Hampshire State Library.  She is 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.