{"nrhp_refnum":"88000832","name":"Bridge in Upper Merion Township","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"S. Gulph Rd. over Gulph Creek","address_restricted":false,"city":"Gulph Mills","county":"Montgomery County","state":"PA","lat":40.06891914600004,"lon":-75.34063925199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-06-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small-span stone arch highway bridge carrying South Gulph Road over Gulph Creek in Gulph Mills, Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It spans about 20 feet and is built of semi-coursed rubble masonry.","why_significant":"The bridge is described as one of the oldest extant bridges in Pennsylvania, with a date stone reading 1789 'In the 2nd Year of the Federal Union'. Later repairs, including an 1884 rebuilding of portions of the stone walls and cement parging of the south arch ring, leave its overall appearance much as it was in 1789. It is presented as an important example of 18th century bridge construction in Pennsylvania.","narrative":"Built over Gulph Creek on South Gulph Road in Gulph Mills, Upper Merion Township, this single-span stone arch bridge carries vehicle traffic across a small suburban valley. A date stone set in the bridge gives the year 1789 and reads 'In the 2nd Year of the Federal Union.' The arch is about 20 feet across and was built of semi-coursed rubble masonry, with a total length of roughly 100 feet including its wing walls. Its builder is not recorded. Repairs have been made over nearly two centuries of highway use, including rebuilt sections of the stone walls dated by an 1884 stone in the parapet and a cement-parged south arch ring. Even so, the structure looks much as it did when first built. It is valued as one of the oldest surviving bridges in Pennsylvania and as a clear example of 18th century bridge construction in the state.","period_of_significance":"1789","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"In vehicular use as a highway bridge.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:37.114181-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88000832.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000832/f66cfcbb99-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000832/f66cfcbb99-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Shuvaev","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bridge_in_Upper_Merion_Township_01.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Shuvaev</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:Bridge_in_Upper_Merion_Township_01.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993382","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_in_Upper_Merion_Township","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4966382"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/montgomery-county/bridge-in-upper-merion-township-88000832/"}