Old Covered Bridge
Why it's listed
Crossing the Housatonic River in the Plains section of Sheffield, this covered bridge is ninety-three feet long and about sixteen feet wide on the outside. It was built between 1837 and 1838, after town selectmen advertised for its construction in April 1837 and town meeting accepted it the following spring. Its structure is the Town lattice truss with secondary chords, a design patented by New Haven architect Ithiel Town in 1820 and modified in 1835 for greater stability. The timbers are mostly hemlock, held with oak trunnels, and the floor is oak and elm. A shallow gabled roof covers the span, and the sides are vertical board. The bridge is recognized as the oldest surviving covered bridge in Massachusetts and an early example of its truss type. It has been closed to vehicles since 1970, and flooding has badly undermined its granite piers. Listing was sought in part to help the town find funds to stabilize them.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is the oldest extant covered bridge in Massachusetts and one of the earliest examples of a Town Lattice Truss bridge. Its truss includes the secondary chords that Ithiel Town added to his design in 1835. The state review also noted statewide significance in terms of engineering.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 78000445, listed November 24, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Covered Bridge Lane, Sheffield |
|---|---|
| County | Berkshire County |
| Listed | November 24, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78000445 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Ithiel Town |
| Architectural style | Town lattice truss covered bridge |
| Areas of significance | Engineering |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Closed to vehicular traffic since 1970; condition listed as fair, unaltered and on its original site, with granite piers seriously undermined by periodic flooding. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.12409, -73.35427 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 78000445.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7083787
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.