{"nrhp_refnum":"80003458","name":"Larkin Covered Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"N of Downingtown in Marsh Creek State Park, Upper Uwchlan Township","address_restricted":false,"city":"Downingtown","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":40.071047028000066,"lon":-75.72039233799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-12-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A burr-truss covered bridge, 60 feet long and 14.5 feet wide, now located over a branch of Marsh Creek within Marsh Creek State Park in Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Bureau of State Parks.","why_significant":"The document describes the bridge as one of several covered bridges in Chester County listed together as a group, and as a good example of mid-to-late 19th-century covered bridge construction in the county. The bridge is the second Larkin bridge on the site, rebuilt in 1881 by the Wood brothers after an earlier bridge of 1854. Its historical significance rests on its construction type and representation of local transportation heritage.","narrative":"A burr-truss covered bridge spanning a branch of Marsh Creek in Marsh Creek State Park, Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It measures 60 feet long and 14.5 feet wide, with a clearance of 12.5 feet. The first bridge at this location was built in 1854 near the Larkin grist mill, and the present structure was built in 1881 by the brothers Menander and Ferdinand Wood. After the creation of the Marsh Creek dam in 1972, the bridge was moved to concrete abutments at its current site, as the original location was submerged under about 60 feet of water. The bridge is one of several covered bridges in Chester County considered together as examples of late nineteenth-century transportation construction in the county. Its condition is recorded as poor. It is owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Bureau of State Parks.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Menander and Ferdinand Wood (builders)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition recorded as poor; bridge moved to its present site on concrete abutments after the Marsh Creek dam was built in 1972.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:34.181765-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/80003458.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003458/9093a4c2d9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003458/9093a4c2d9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"ParadeCloud","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Larkin_Covered_Bridge2.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">ParadeCloud</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:Larkin_Covered_Bridge2.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992682","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larkin_Covered_Bridge_(Chester_Springs,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6489610"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/larkin-covered-bridge-80003458/"}