Known originally as Bridge Village, this community was incorporated in 1869 and named in honor of Nathaniel Tilton, an early land owner who established an iron foundry and many of the early businesses in the area. This tour includes the home of poets, the mansion of Charles Tilton, the downtown historic district, and Tilton Island Park Bridge. 

Originally constructed in 1783, The House by the Side of the Road is a beautifully preserved example of an 18th Century residence, featuring Greek Revival flourishes and a gable roof. There are few signs of modification or renovation. Only the treatment of the wood of the front door bears any signs of notable change. As of the creation of the NRHP listing, the house had been owned by the same owner for nearly a decade, unmodified since its purchase.  The House by the Side of the Road was the home of poet Sam Walter Foss while he attended the Tilton Seminary in the late 1870s. The House was given a nickname that matched the title of his famous poem, which was published in 1897. In truth, though, the “real” House by the Side of the Road was his childhood home in Candia, New Hampshire. Sam Walter Foss was a graduate of Brown University who worked for most of his life in the newspaper business, publishing small poems for the entertainment and enlightenment of local readers. He was at various times an editor, a publisher, and a journalist, though for the last decades of his life he was a humble librarian at the Somerville Public Library in Somerville, Massachusetts. His last book of poetry was published just four years before his death in 1911 and contained notable works on the uniqueness of the individual and the virtues of freeing oneself from the limitations of the past.  Below is recorded the text of two of his poems. The first is his most popular poem, “The House by The Side of the Road.” The second poem is, fittingly, his second most popular poem, “The Calf-Path,” included here because of its relevance to the story of human history that brings us here in the first place. THE HOUSE BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD He was a friend to man, and he livedIn a house by the side of the road -- Homer There are hermit souls that live withdrawnIn the place of their self-content;There are souls like stars, that dwell apart,In a fellowless firmament;There are pioneer souls that blaze their pathsWhere highways never ran --But let me live by the side of the roadAnd be a friend to man. Let me live in a house by the side of the road,Where the race of men go by --The men who are good and the men who are bad,As good and as bad as I.I would not sit in the scorner's seat,Or hurl the cynic's ban --Let me live in a house by the side of the roadAnd be a friend to man. I see from my house by the side of the road,By the side of the highway of life,The men who press with the ardor of hope,The men who are faint with the strife.But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears,Both parts of an infinite plan --Let me live in a house by the side of the roadAnd be a friend to man. I know there are brook-gladdened meadows aheadAnd mountains of wearisome height;That the road passes on through the long afternoonAnd stretches away to the night.But still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice,And weep with the strangers that moan,Nor live in my house by the side of the roadLike a man who dwells alone. Let me live in my house by the side of the road --It's here the race of men go by.They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,Wise, foolish -- so am I;Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat,Or hurl the cynic's ban?Let me live in my house by the side of the roadAnd be a friend to man.  THE CALF-PATH One day, through the primeval wood,A calf walked home, as good calves should;But made a trail all bent askew,A crooked trail as all calves do. Since then two hundred years have fled,And, I infer, the calf is dead.But still he left behind his trail,And thereby hangs my moral tale. The trail was taken up next dayBy a lone dog that passed that way;And then a wise bell-wether sheepPursued the trail o'er vale and steep,And drew the flock behind him, too,As good bell-wethers always do. And from that day, o'er hill and glade,Through those old woods a path was made;And many men wound in and out,And dodged, and turned, and bent aboutAnd uttered words of righteous wrathBecause ‘twas such a crooked path.But still they followed -- do not laugh --The first migrations of that calf,And through this winding wood-way stalked,Because he wobbled when he walked. This forest path became a lane,That bent, and turned, and turned again;This crooked lane became a road,Where many a poor horse with his loadToiled on beneath the burning sun,And traveled some three miles in one.And thus a century and a halfThey trod the footsteps of that calf.The years passed on in swiftness fleet,The road became a village street,And this, before men were aware,A city's crowded thoroughfare;And soon the central street was thisOf a renowned metropolis;And men two centuries and a halfTrod in the footsteps of that calf. Each day a hundred thousand routFollowed the zigzag calf about;And o'er his crooked journey wentThe traffic of a continent.A hundred thousand men were ledBy one calf near three centuries dead.They followed still his crooked way,And lost one hundred years a day;For thus such reverence is lentTo well-established precedent. A moral lesson this might teach,Were I ordained and called to preach;For men are prone to go it blindAlong the calf-paths of the mind,And work away from sun to sunTo do what other men have done.They follow in the beaten track,And out and in, and forth and back,And still their devious course pursue,To keep the path that others do. But how the wise old wood-gods laugh,Who saw the first primeval calf!Ah! many things this tale might teach --But I am not ordained to preach.

“The House by the Side of the Road” was once the home of New Hampshire poet Sam Walter Foss.  Since he inhabited the home, it has been known as The House by the Side of the Road as a reference to his famous poem by the same name.  While Foss did not achieve widespread fame for most of his life, his works were recognized throughout the 20th century.  In addition to the poem that shares a name with the home, his other recognized works included “The Calf-Path” and “The Coming American.”

"The House by the Side of the Road" of Tilton, New Hampshire

Constructed in 1861 at the commission of Tilton banker and merchant Charles Tilton, the Charles E. Tilton Mansion represents one of the most interesting post-civil war residences in the state.&nbsp; The structure contains elements from multiple schools of architecture, which, in most cases blend very well together to make an artistic and unconventional appearance for the house.&nbsp; While the original building was designed in the French Second Empire school of architectural design, later modifications and additions came to the home that pulled from the Renaissance Revival, Classical Revival, Gothic Revival, Tudor, Eastlake, Pompeiian, Art Nouveau, and Rococo Revival styles.&nbsp; Furthermore, segments of the unique exterior porch paintings appear to be of Spanish stylization.&nbsp;

Born in 1827 in Sanbornton Bridge, Sanbornton, New Hampshire, Charles E. Tilton grew up influenced by his grandfather, Nathaniel Tilton’s, philanthropy.&nbsp; Later in his life, the neighborhood of Sanbornton Bridge would incorporate as an independent town from Sanbornton, and would name itself Tilton in honor of Charles and Nathaniel’s remarkable contributions to the community. As he grew, he left the State of New Hampshire to pursue education and, later, an entry into marine trade.&nbsp; Following a short stay in New York City, Charles Tilton took to travel, visiting the Caribbean islands and various nations in South America before ultimately traveling to California following hearing rumors of the occurrence of the famous Gold Rush of 1849.&nbsp; After some time in California, Tilton decided against participating in the Rush, instead opting to relocate to Portland, Oregon where he entered again into the business of marine trade, this time with his cousin who lived in Portland.&nbsp;

Tilton’s influence in Portland, Oregon is notable in-and-of itself; He founded the first bank, which would later expand considerably through the area, ran successful trade ventures, and also heavily influenced navigation ventures into the Columbia and Willamette rivers, which resulted in his participation in the founding of the Oregon Railway and Navigation company.&nbsp; In addition to his sea trade ventures, he also financed a number of land trade routes running between Utah, California, Missouri, Colorado, and Montana.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Despite incredible investment in the American West, Charles E. Tilton never forgot his home state of New Hampshire, spending summers in his family home in Tilton until the commission and construction of the Tilton Mansion in 1861.&nbsp; Tilton continued doing business in the west until 1879, at which point he sold all of his businesses in the west, relocated back to Tilton, New Hampshire, and reinvested in east coast interests.&nbsp; Much of his money was invested in major railroads in the region, including the Boston, Concord, and Montreal railroads, though he also invested heavily in two local railroads around Tilton as well.&nbsp;

During his return to Tilton, he invested a considerable sum into additions to the Tilton Mansion and an equally notable amount into the improvement of public facilities in the Town of Tilton.&nbsp; Charles Tilton was responsible for the financing of the Tilton Town Hall, the Public Library, public parks, fairgrounds, and business buildings, a railroad station, and the historically notable Memorial Arch of Tilton.&nbsp; He also helped finance general improvement and beautification of public spaces.&nbsp;

The Tilton Mansion is now maintained by the Tilton School as a private library for the school.&nbsp; While known to many still as the Charles E. Tilton Mansion, its official name has been changed to “The Lucian Hunt Library,” after the name of a prominent professor of the Tilton School.&nbsp; The mansion has been well preserved to this day.

The Charles E. Tilton Mansion in Tilton, New Hampshire, represents a fantastically preserved 19th-century estate that once belonged to Tilton’s most famous businessman.  The Town of Tilton was named for Charles E. Tilton’s grandfather, Nathaniel Tilton, whose reputation of contribution to the town was only to be matched by Charles decades later.  Many of Tilton’s most recognizable features were influenced by or funded directly by the Tilton family, including the private preparatory school known as the Tilton School, which now owns and maintains the mansion as the “Lucian Hunt Library.”

Photograph of the Mansion in October of 2011 by Phil C. Walton

Charles E. Tilton Mansion

The Town of Tilton began its
history as a neighborhood of the Town of Sanbornton known as Sanbornton
Bridge.&nbsp; Sanbornton Bridge had the
makings of a future commercial district, with a central road located aside the
Winnipesaukee River.&nbsp; Sanbornton itself
was founded shortly after the French and Indian War, with the original settlers
organizing the construction of a road from nearby Canterbury, New
Hampshire.&nbsp; Following the laying of the
road, the original Sanbornton Bridge was constructed, which would continue to
serve the town until the 20th century.

Mills were the backbone of
the riverside town, with the first mills being constructed in 1765 and 1766
near the Sanbornton Bridge.&nbsp; Main Street
was properly structured and designated as a public highway in 1772.&nbsp; Interestingly, most of the major roads in
Tilton, Sanbornton, and Franklin (the three towns that Sanbornton split into
over the last two centuries) to this day still correspond to the roads that
branched off of Main Street.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Main Street became an
important district for commerce and industry, with a number of businesses
rising around it throughout the late 1700s and the early 1800s.&nbsp; For decades, though, Sanbornton Bridge was
simply a small neighborhood of the much larger Sanbornton.&nbsp; It was the rise of a number of textile mills and
other mills.&nbsp; These mills brought
business and new citizens to Sanbornton Bridge.&nbsp;

Sanbornton Bridge was
transformed in the mid-1800s by Charles Tilton’s investments in the Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad.&nbsp; Sanbornton Bridge became the home of a
railroad station for the line, which helped further establish the town as a
center of its own.&nbsp; In the decades
following the construction of the railroad station, a number of public
buildings were funded and constructed along Main Street.&nbsp; A number of churches rose around this time as
well, including the Methodist Church and the Congregational Church.

In the late 1800s, Sanbornton
Bridge declared its independence from Sanbornton and incorporated as Tilton,
named in honor of Nathaniel and Charles Tilton.&nbsp;
Tilton gained a number of new mills throughout the decades following its
incorporation as an independent town.&nbsp;
The commercial district flourished and many of the older buildings were
renovated.&nbsp; This wave of restructuring is
the reason that much of the Historic District now is comprised of post-Civil
War structures, many in the Victorian architectural style, which was growing
incredibly popular in the area at the time.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Charles E. Tilton’s influence on the town is most visible in the
buildings that he funded at the turn of the century.&nbsp; Tilton funded the Tilton Town Hall, the
Statue of America, the Charles E. Tilton block, and the Alfred Tilton Block, in
addition to a number of public parks in the area.&nbsp; Charles E. Tilton’s development of the town would prove to be the
greatest period of thriving and growth for the town.

The 20th century was a
quieter century for the city of Tilton, though the notable construction of the
World War I Monument did occur in 1919.&nbsp;
Unfortunately, a number of the buildings that originally stood along
Main Street were either demolished or severely renovated prior to the District’s addition to the
National Register of Historic Places.&nbsp;
Lost buildings include the Railroad Station, the Methodist Church, and
the Hotel Loverin.&nbsp;

Thankfully, preservation
efforts have ensured that many key buildings of the old commercial district
still remain to this day.&nbsp; The buildings
included within the Historical District are listed in detail below, as numbered
in the official documentation:&nbsp;

 1.&nbsp; Copp Gristmill&nbsp;

The Copp Gristmill, named
after its owner and commissioner Hazen Copp, was constructed in 1872.&nbsp; The mil still retains some of its original
styling to this day, despite undergoing a significant renovation in the
1960s.&nbsp; The greatest changes to the
building involved the removal of some of the windows and the modification of
other windows, as well as the addition of a modern-styled fire escape along one
side of the building.&nbsp; The Copp Gristmill
is still home to segments of original clapboarded exterior, the original gable
roof, and one remaining original window.

&nbsp;

2.&nbsp; Copp Mill No. 3

Another mill belonging to
and commissioned by Hazen Copp, Mill No. 3 lies to the west of the Copp
Gristmill and was built in 1877.&nbsp;
Partially due to an 1889 renovation which added another floor to the
mill, Copp Mill No. 3 stands a full two stories above its predecessor.&nbsp; Though Mill No. 3 did not remain a mill for
much of its life, having been converted into a shoe factory during its 1889
renovation, its original appearance was preserved considerably well.&nbsp; The siding, doors, and windows of the lower
stories were updated throughout the late 1900s, but the interior has remained
unchanged.&nbsp; Additionally, no changes to
the layout of the building have been undertaken since 1889.

&nbsp;

3.&nbsp; Meserve’s Store

The exact date of
construction of Meserve’s Store is unknown, but estimates based on photographs have placed
its construction date sometime between
1859 and 1883.&nbsp; Originally, Meserve’s Store was a two and a half story building, but a
third story was added in the early 1920s as an expansion of the store
space.&nbsp; Though not particularly ornate,
the storefront has been maintained in its original stylings, though the current
storefront is not the same storefront as the building had at construction.

&nbsp;

4. Copp Block

The Copp Block represents
another piece of Tilton’s downtown commissioned by Hazen Copp.&nbsp; It was built in 1894 to house a store and,
similarly to its neighbors on the street,
was renovated in the early 1900s in order to add a third story to the store and
again in 1982.&nbsp; The 1982 renovation added
a porch and removed the original storefront.&nbsp;
These two exterior renovations make the Copp Block particularly unique
in that all three of its floors now represent completely different time
periods.&nbsp; Copp Block stands out among its
neighbors in that it is the more ornate of the shops along Main Street,
featuring architectural flourishes few other buildings nearby have.

&nbsp;

5.&nbsp; Page Block

Another building with an
unsure date of construction, it was likely built around the same time as
Meserve’s
Store.&nbsp; Page Block’s exterior has been
heavily changed from its original appearance, though the storefront still
maintains some of its original features.&nbsp;
The interior has been preserved
reasonably well, but, unfortunately, the Page Block’s exterior
appearance has largely been lost to time.

&nbsp;

6.&nbsp; Bryant and Lawrence, Inc.&nbsp;

Much like Page Block and
Meserve’s
Store, the specific date of construction of Bryant and Lawrence, Inc. is unknown, though it is known to
have been business a considerable amount of time before 1881 but after
1859.&nbsp; One of the most interesting facts
about this building is the fact that the same firm has operated in the building
since 1882.&nbsp; The Bryant and Lawrence
building was changed at various times through the early 1900s, though it was
restored to its original appearance in 1971, following older photographs as
blueprints for the restoration.&nbsp; It is
now an almost perfect match for its appearance in the 19th century.

&nbsp;

7.&nbsp;&nbsp; Trinity Episcopal Church&nbsp;

Designed by notable
architect Edward Dow of Concord, NH, the Episcopal Church was designed
following the conventions of the Gothic Revival style of church design.&nbsp; The construction of the Trinity Episcopal
Church took approximately one year, starting in 1872.&nbsp; Interestingly, the iconic wooden spire of the
Church, which towers above the Town of Tilton, was not present at its
construction.&nbsp; The tower for the spire
was built, but the spire was not actually added for nearly a decade.&nbsp;

Almost no additions or
modifications have been made to the building, save for an early 1900s addition
of a furnace room and kitchen to the back of the building.&nbsp; As a result of its impeccable preservation,
Tilton’s
Trinity Episcopal Church stands as one
of the best Gothic Revival churches in New Hampshire.

&nbsp;

8.&nbsp; Charles E. Tilton Block

A Victorian-style commercial
building with an out-of-character Classical-styled bank front punctuating its
appearance, the Charles E. Tilton Block has been preserved reasonably well, in
spite of the addition of the Classical front.&nbsp;
The Block was originally built in 1886 at the commission of Charles E.
Tilton, though it was later sold and split into two halves, each occupied by
different businesses.&nbsp; The bank that took
control of the western half, the Citizens National and Iona Savings Bank, chose
to remodel the front of the building in 1926 to the Classical style now
displayed.&nbsp; The upper stories and the
eastern half, however, have gone largely unchanged, minus a change in the paint
coloration on the eastern side.&nbsp;

As a result, the Charles E.
Tilton Block is a strange, but relevant building that displays well-preserved
aspects from the early 1900s and the late 1800s.&nbsp;

 9.&nbsp; Bank Block&nbsp;

Another building renovated
in the Classical style by the Citizens National Bank and the Iona Savings Bank,
the Bank Block was originally a humble building that was small in comparison to
the buildings next to it.&nbsp; It was
repeatedly expanded or renovated, with the most significant being the addition
of a detailed Classical Style front in the early 1900s.

Much like the Charles E.
Tilton Block, both the Victorian and Classical aspects of the building are
well-preserved and high-quality, meaning that it is an unconventional mixture
of odd appearance that is still historically relevant in regards to
architecture. 

10.&nbsp; Alfred Tilton Block

Constructed in 1887, just
one year after the construction of the Charles E. Tilton Block, this brick Victorian-style
commercial building was given by Charles E. Tilton to his son Alfred.&nbsp; The Alfred Tilton Block represents one of the
finer buildings on Main Street, having considerably more flourish and
decoration than its neighbors.&nbsp; The Block
underwent significant restoration during the 1980s under the commission of Iona
Savings Bank, who had hoped to correct what few changes did occur to the Block
over the years.&nbsp; 

&nbsp;

11. Northfield-Tilton
Congregational Church

The Northfield-Tilton
Congregational Church holds the prestigious position of oldest surviving
building on Main Street.&nbsp; The Church was
constructed in 1838 and has undergone surprisingly little exterior change.&nbsp; The two major changes, which occurred in the
late 1800s, came in the form of the raising of the Church by one story to add a
vestry and the extension of the central sections of the Church.&nbsp; These renovations maintained the style of the
church, and were only intended to add more functional space for the
church.&nbsp; 

&nbsp;

12.&nbsp; Tilton Block

The Tilton Block (not to be
confused with the Charles E. Tilton and Alfred Tilton Blocks,) was constructed
for Charles E. Tilton’s other son, Charles Jr, in
1915.&nbsp; It features four independent
storefronts on Main Street which are decorated by ornamental strips of vertically-laid
bricks.&nbsp; One of the more simplistic
structures in the Historic District, the Tilton Block is likely to be more
interesting to historians looking for a glimpse into everyday commerce in the early
1900s than to visitors looking to be entertained by ornament.

&nbsp;

13.&nbsp; Loverin Block

The Loverin Block stands on
the site of one of Tilton’s previously most
recognizable features: the Hotel Loverin.&nbsp;
The Hotel burned to the ground in July of 1903 and the Block was built
in its stead a year later at the commission of J.L. Loverin.&nbsp; With six storefronts on Main Street included
in the Loverin Block, it is one of the wider buildings on the street.&nbsp; J.L. Loverin intended to rebuild the hotel in
the vacant lot beside the new Loverin Block, but this project was never
undertaken.&nbsp; As a result, the eastern
side of the Loverin Block was never improved in appearance.&nbsp; The building that now stands in the
once-vacant lot next to the Loverin Block is exempted from inclusion in the
Historical District.

&nbsp;

14.&nbsp; Tilton Town Hall&nbsp;

Completing construction in
1880, the Tilton Town Hall was paid for in full by Charles E. Tilton to serve
the town.&nbsp; Interestingly, Tilton citizens
did not vote to accept the gift – and
its conditions – until a few months after
the Tilton Town Hall’s construction.&nbsp; One of the conditions of the gift, perhaps
speaking better to Charles E. Tilton’s
desire for immortalization via monument than anything else in the Town, was
that the Town accept to never change its name.

Charles E. Tilton’s gift to the city was a fantastic Victorian-style
public building that has been fantastically preserved to this day.&nbsp; Only a few minor modifications have ever been
made to the building, few of which would be noticeable to anyone not searching
for them specifically.&nbsp; 

&nbsp;

15.&nbsp; Tilton Inn

The Tilton Inn is a building
whose many modifications seem to tell more of a story than the architectural
features of the building itself.&nbsp; While
it is now a single building, the Tilton Inn was once two separate buildings
that neighbored one another.&nbsp; The dates
of construction of the buildings are unknown, though photographic analysis has
placed the time of their construction between the years of 1875 and 1879.&nbsp;

It is known that a fire in
June of 1875 burned the buildings that inhabited the lot previously to the
ground and that, sometime shortly thereafter, two buildings were raised in the
lot.&nbsp; The eastern building was
specifically constructed to be a hotel and underwent two major modifications
sometime in the early 1900s which added a story to the building and a two-story
porch.&nbsp; Finally, at some point between
1912 and 1923, the western building was purchased and connected to the eastern
structure.

Currently, the building
appears early 20th-century in style, and there is little to nothing that would
point to the buildings ever having been separate at all save for older
photographs of Main Street.

 

16.&nbsp; Veterans Square

Veterans Square contains two
important monuments that have brought character to the downtown for decades
each.&nbsp; The first of these monuments is
the Statue of America.&nbsp; Being presented
to the Town in 1872, the Statue of America belonged to a set of statues which
represented the “Four Continents of Earth.”&nbsp; Three of
these statues still stand today.&nbsp;
Interestingly, the Four Continents statues match two identical sets
which are located in Philadelphia and Louisiana.&nbsp; No artist has been credited on any of the
sets, though local newspapers noted that the set “was
purchased of an English artists of great repute.”

The Four Continents statues
were donated to the Town by Charles E. Tilton.&nbsp;
The Statue of America appears to be a Native American Princess dressed
in traditional feathered regalia.&nbsp; She
holds a bow in one hand and is standing over a carving of an alligator.

The second monument in Veterans Square is the World
War I Monument, which was constructed by the Town of Tilton in 1919.&nbsp; A simple, rough rectangular block with a
bronze plaque, the World War I Monument memorializes a number of World War I
soldiers who hailed from Tilton.

The Tilton Downtown Historic District of Tilton, NH, represents a collection of some of the town’s most influential buildings, whose origins span the 19th and 20th centuries. Largely influenced by Charles E. Tilton, from whom Tilton got its name, the District stands as a fantastic record of the town’s storied past and offers an incredible snapshot into the daily lives, luxuries, and business of Tilton’s past citizens.

North Side of Main Street incl. Charles E. Tilton Block, Bank Block, Alfred Tilton Block, and the Side of Tilton Block.  Steeple of Northfield-Tilton Congregational Church visible above Alfred Tilton Block by Roger P. Akeley on December 15, 1982

The Tilton Downtown Historic District

The Tilton Island Park Bridge is particularly unique among the other few remaining cast iron bridges in that it was already out of date at the time of its construction.&nbsp; Cast iron truss bridges became popular during the 1850s as designers were moving away from wooden bridge designs in hopes of creating stronger and longer-lasting bridges.&nbsp; Interestingly, the patent for the truss used in the Tilton Bridge is very similar to a design that had originally been intended for use with wooden bridges.&nbsp;

At the time of the Tilton Bridge’s construction, engineering was still a very small field, and few bridge builders were particularly educated on the science behind new designs.&nbsp; As a result, many new patents were filed for designs that claimed they could improve the strength and longevity of bridges that were scientifically dubious.&nbsp; The Truesdell cast-iron truss design was, in-and-of-itself not particularly influential.&nbsp; However, the Truesdell truss is a fantastic example of the eccentric designs that rose during the time of transition between the era of wooden bridges and the era of wrought-iron and steel bridges that would follow.&nbsp;

By the time the Tilton Island Park Bridge was constructed, most other new bridges being constructed were wrought-iron or steel.&nbsp; It was built by Albert D. Briggs out of Springfield, Massachusetts, who had utilized the Truesdell cast-iron truss in multiple other small bridges he had built throughout the New England region.&nbsp;

The bridge was donated to the city by prominent merchant Charles E. Tilton, whose influence on the town of Tilton is visible even in the name of the town.&nbsp; Charles E. Tilton was a Tilton native whose successful business ventures in the Pacific Northwest led him to be one of the richest men to ever live in Tilton.&nbsp; Much of the public services and structures in Tilton and the surrounding villages owe their foundation to Charles Tilton and his grandfather, Nathaniel, who was just as, if not more, influential to the thriving of Tilton.&nbsp; When Tilton incorporated as an independent town, the citizens voted to name the town in honor of Nathaniel and Charles Tilton.

The bridge is still in use and publicly accessible today, residing within the Tilton Island Park.&nbsp;

The Tilton Island Park Bridge of Tilton, New Hampshire represents one of the few remaining cast-iron bridges left in usable condition in the present day.  Constructed by Albert D. Briggs in 1881 to a patent filed by Lucius E. Truesdell in 1858, the Tilton Island Park Bridge acts as an example of a unique chapter of the history of bridge-building and civil engineering in which designers were making the transition from wood bridges to iron bridges.  


The Tilton Island Park Bridge by B. Clouette in August of 1977

Entries on This Tour

Tilton New Hampshire Walking Tour

Description

Share