{"nrhp_refnum":"88000875","name":"Bridge in West Earl Township","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"LR 36032 over Conestoga Creek","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brownstown","county":"Lancaster County","state":"PA","lat":40.12841857900003,"lon":-76.19986721799995,"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 three-span concrete bridge carrying a road over Conestoga Creek in West Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, built in 1917. The bridge plaque names the county commissioners, the engineer and the contractor.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the bridge is unusual because, although arched in shape, its structural function appears to be an early example of a concrete cambered beam. It is classified with the concrete solid barrel arches. The bridge is presented as a distinctive cross between these two early 20th-century concrete bridge types, which is the basis for listing under engineering.","narrative":"Built in 1917 over Conestoga Creek in West Earl Township, Lancaster County, this three-span concrete bridge carries vehicles on a crossing that is 134 feet long overall, with a main span of 66 feet and two side spans of 33 feet. The designer was F. N. Shaw and the contractor was P. D. Kauffman, whose name appears on the bridge plaque along with the county commissioners and county engineer. Its arched profile is classified with concrete solid barrel arches, yet its structure behaves like an early concrete cambered beam. This combination of two types of early twentieth-century concrete bridge is the main reason for its significance, and the engineering features are the basis of its listing. The solid end parapets give way to open railings over the span. The bridge is rural, set near the Brownstown Mill and other old buildings south of the crossing, and the nominated area covers only the superstructure and substructure within the wing walls.","period_of_significance":"1917","architect_builder":"Shaw, F. N. (designer/engineer); P. D. Kauffman (builder/contractor)","architectural_style":"Concrete solid barrel arch","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Vehicular use, present and original","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.531299-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/88000875.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000875/130676b049-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000875/130676b049-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jet Lowe","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bridge_in_West_Earl_Township_PA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jet Lowe</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bridge_in_West_Earl_Township_PA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993205","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_in_West_Earl_Township","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4966383"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lancaster-county/bridge-in-west-earl-township-88000875/"}