{"nrhp_refnum":"78002347","name":"Wertz's Covered Bridge","other_names":["Red Covered Bridge"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"NW of Reading on T 921, Bern/Spring Townships","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.36870602100004,"lon":-75.97843412799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-11-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-span covered bridge over Tulpehocken Creek between Bern and Spring Townships in Berks County, Pennsylvania, built in 1867 by contractor Amandas Knerr for the County of Berks at a cost of $7,650.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the bridge is one of the longest remaining single-span covered bridges in Pennsylvania and a surviving example of the Burr arch truss common in Berks County. It is also linked to local transportation history, including its position on a well-travelled route and its earlier role serving a nearby mill and ford.","narrative":"Built in 1867 by contractor Amandas Knerr for the County of Berks, the Wertz's Covered Bridge spans the Tulpehocken Creek between Bern and Spring Townships. It is 165 feet long, 16 feet wide and 12 feet high, and uses a Burr arch truss, a design patented by Theodore Burr in 1804. The bridge was built mainly of white pine, pinned with oak pins soaked in pine tar, and originally had a wooden shingle roof and red paint. It served as a toll bridge for its first quarter century and was county-owned for most of its life, with a period under state ownership from 1940 to 1953. Its significance rests on its length among surviving single-span covered bridges in Pennsylvania and its role as a link between the Old Tulpehocken Road and the Red Bridge Road, which was laid out by 1796. Local merchant Dr. Reed's Common Sense Shoe Store painted an advertisement on its beams, which remains visible. Today the bridge stands in its original location within a county park and is used by hikers and cyclists.","period_of_significance":"1867","architect_builder":"Amandas Knerr (contractor)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"No longer open to automobile traffic; used by hikers, bicyclists and park visitors within the Tulpehocken Creek Valley Park system.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:28.907838-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/78002347.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002347/70d091f45a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002347/70d091f45a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"JERRYE &amp; ROY KLOTZ MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WERTZ%27S_COVERED_BRIDGE.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE &amp;amp; ROY KLOTZ MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WERTZ%27S_COVERED_BRIDGE.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992366","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wertz%27s_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7983619"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/wertzs-covered-bridge-78002347/"}