{"nrhp_refnum":"88000856","name":"Bridge in Franconia Township","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Allentown Rd. over Skippack Creek","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elvoy","county":"Montgomery County","state":"PA","lat":40.288395113000036,"lon":-75.33855345599994,"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 multiple-span stone arch highway bridge carrying Allentown Road over Skippack Creek in Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The form gives its dates as 1837 (original construction, per a plaque) and 1874 (reconstruction by Montgomery County).","why_significant":"The nomination describes it as a typical nineteenth-century stone highway bridge and an example of the stone masonry bridge tradition in Pennsylvania. Its two arch spans are set apart from the body of the bridge by a built-in recession, a feature the form says appears peculiar to Montgomery County. The area of significance is given as engineering.","narrative":"A multiple-span stone arch highway bridge over Skippack Creek on Allentown Road in Franconia Township, Montgomery County. Two stone plaques on its parapets date the original construction to 1837 and the reconstruction to 1874, when Montgomery County rebuilt it. Its two arch spans, each about 20 feet long, are flanked by long approach walls. The arch spans are set apart from the rest of the bridge by a small recessed section, which forms a rectangle across both arch crowns. The form notes that this treatment appears peculiar to Montgomery County, where five stone arch bridges share the design. The bridge is regarded as a representative example of nineteenth-century stone highway construction. The nomination groups it with ten stone bridges in Montgomery County, built between 1789 and 1910, as an illustration of continuing stone masonry bridge building in Pennsylvania. Its significance rests on engineering, and the wing walls have since been repaired.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Altered; repair to wing walls is noted.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:38.131494-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88000856.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000856/ffd025047c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000856/ffd025047c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Shuvaev","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bridge_in_Franconia_Township.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_Franconia_Township.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993390","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_in_Franconia_Township","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4966353"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/montgomery-county/bridge-in-franconia-township-88000856/"}