{"nrhp_refnum":"80003514","name":"Butcher's Mill Covered Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"S of Denver on T 955, East Cocalico Township","address_restricted":false,"city":"Denver","county":"Lancaster County","state":"PA","lat":40.20790735500003,"lon":-76.13452187799999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-12-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A covered bridge over Cocalico Creek on township road T955 in East Cocalico Township, near Denver, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The form gives its construction year as 1881 and identifies the builder as Ellas McMellen.","why_significant":"The form describes it as a Burr truss covered bridge, one of the Covered Bridges of Lancaster County considered under a multiple property listing. The reviewer notes that the bridge is a good candidate for its type of wood frame construction in the 19th century. It has vertical plank siding and narrow window openings under the eaves.","narrative":"Along township road T955 where it crosses Cocalico Creek in East Cocalico Township, near Denver in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, stands a covered bridge built in 1881 by Ellas McMellen. It is a Burr truss structure, about 60 feet long with a roadway about 15 feet wide, and is sheathed in vertical plank siding with narrow window openings beneath the eaves. Its importance lies in its representation of 19th-century wood frame bridge construction in Lancaster County. It was considered as one of a group of covered bridges in the county, a multiple property grouping that gathers the region's surviving bridges of this type. The bridge has been bypassed by a newer highway and is in poor condition. Reviewers noted that its abutments and boundary would need further attention to fully document the site.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Ellas McMellen (builder)","architectural_style":"Burr truss","criteria":[],"status_note":"Bypassed by its highway and in poor condition, according to the form.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:32.99677-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/80003514.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003514/3afe4f211e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003514/3afe4f211e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.5","author":"Photo by and (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bucher%27s_Mill_Covered_Bridge_Full_Side_3008px.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Photo by and (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bucher%27s_Mill_Covered_Bridge_Full_Side_3008px.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993217","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucher%27s_Mill_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4982687"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lancaster-county/butchers-mill-covered-bridge-80003514/"}