{"nrhp_refnum":"79003827","name":"Ralston Freeman Covered Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"N of Paris crossing Aunt Clara'a Fork of King's Creek, Hanover Township","address_restricted":false,"city":"Paris","county":"Washington County","state":"PA","lat":40.44691037500007,"lon":-80.50700187799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-06-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Ralston Freeman Covered Bridge is a kingpost covered bridge crossing Aunt Clara's Fork of King's Creek in Hanover Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, near Burgettstown. It was built in 1915 and is listed as part of the multiple-property group Covered Bridges of Washington and Greene Counties.","why_significant":"The nomination treats the bridge as one of the important examples of vernacular wood architecture and wood bridge technology in the two counties. It belongs to a group of bridges regarded as embodying the characteristics of a common wood truss type, with local design features. The bridge has a 28-foot end post length, a 12-foot road width and vertical siding with a gable roof.","narrative":"Built in 1915, the Ralston Freeman Covered Bridge carries a local road across Aunt Clara's Fork of King's Creek in Hanover Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, near Burgettstown. It is a kingpost truss bridge with a 28-foot end post length, a road surface 12 feet wide, vertical wood siding and a gable roof. Its construction follows a wood truss type that was once common across the region, and the bridge is cited for its simple truss design and the local features in its construction. It is one of a group of covered bridges in Washington and Greene Counties that together show how wood bridge building was carried out in these rural areas. The bridge was listed for its value as an example of vernacular wood architecture and engineering in the two-county group, and it is noted in the group's records as one of the examples that illustrate this type of construction clearly.","period_of_significance":"1915","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Kingpost truss","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Condition listed as fair in the survey data for a neighbouring bridge only; the bridge's own current status is not stated.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.429682-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/79003827.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003827/7f3e8089a6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003827/7f3e8089a6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Lee Paxton (Original uploader was Leepaxton at en.wikipedia)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RalstonFreemanCoveredBridge.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lee Paxton (Original uploader was Leepaxton at en.wikipedia)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RalstonFreemanCoveredBridge.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994009","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralston_Freeman_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7288362"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/washington-county/ralston-freeman-covered-bridge-79003827/"}