County Bridge No. 171
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Built in 1907 by the local contractors P. J. McCormick & Sons, this stone arch bridge carries Cedar Hollow Road over Valley Creek in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County. It has a single larger central span flanked by smaller spans, with a total length of about 100 feet and a width of about 25 feet. The structure is built of coursed rubble stone with brick arch rings and brick intrados and voussoirs, and it has contrasting coping stones on the parapets. It is one of three bridges in its group by the McCormick firm that share this combination of stone and brick, the others being Brower's Bridge and Marshall's Bridge. Its general form resembles nineteenth-century highway bridges. The bridge is valued for the quality of its engineering and design, and it retains excellent integrity. A plaque on the bridge records the date of construction.
Significance in brief: The nomination identifies the bridge as one of three stone arch bridges in the group with brick arch rings, alongside Brower's Bridge and Marshall's Bridge. Its overall form is similar to 19th century highway bridges, and it is described as showing high quality of design and construction with excellent integrity. The area of significance is 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 88000762, listed June 22, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence low).
Key facts
| Address | Cedar Hollow Rd. over Valley Creek, Malvern |
|---|---|
| County | Chester County |
| Listed | June 22, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88000762 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Architect / builder | P. J. McCormick & Sons (builder/contractor) |
| Areas of significance | Engineering |
| Level of significance | State |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.05356, -75.50049 (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 88000762.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5177631
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.