{"nrhp_refnum":"86001006","name":"Ware-Hardwick Covered Bridge","other_names":["Gilbertville Bridge"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Old Gilbertville Rd. and Bridge St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ware","county":"Hampshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.31031244600007,"lon":-72.21207871399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-05-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-span covered wooden bridge over the Ware River at Gilbertville, linking the towns of Ware (Hampshire County) and Hardwick (Worcester County), Massachusetts. It is dated to 1886 and measures about 25 by 137 feet.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the bridge is one of only four 19th-century covered bridges still standing in their original Massachusetts locations. It embodies the Town lattice truss, patented by Ithiel Town in 1820, and shows the lasting appeal of that system in New England. It is also a still-functional example of a now-rare engineering type.","narrative":"Spanning the Ware River at Gilbertville, this covered wooden bridge connects Ware in Hampshire County with Hardwick in Worcester County. It is a Town lattice truss about 25 by 137 feet, built on the system Ithiel Town patented in 1820. A dense web of diagonal planks is pegged together with wooden treenails and later reinforced with iron rods, bolts and tie bars. The sides are clad in vertical planks with the upper trusses left open to admit light, and the shouldered portals are painted barn-red. The bridge is dated to 1886, a date supported by a photograph from 1885 showing the site without a span and an 1892 directory mentioning Bridge Street leading to the covered bridge. It was listed because it is one of only four 19th-century covered bridges still in their original Massachusetts locations, and because it remains a working example of a once-common but now rare engineering type. The village it serves was founded as a woolen mill community in 1860.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Town lattice truss covered bridge","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as still functional; the siding was replaced in 1954 but some planks are missing, and the portals are disfigured with graffiti.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.264221-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/91/7954/63795491/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001006.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001006/cf14fa889e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001006/cf14fa889e-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Joel Bradshaw","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ware-Hardwick-covered-bridge-obl-upstream.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Joel Bradshaw</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ware-Hardwick-covered-bridge-obl-upstream.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795491","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ware%E2%80%93Hardwick_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7969321"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampshire-county/ware-hardwick-covered-bridge-86001006/"}