Ware-Hardwick Covered Bridge
Description and history
The Ware-Hardwick Bridge is located in the village of Gilbertville, a 19th-century industrial village on the Ware River in southern Hardwick and northern Ware. It is a single-span lattice truss in a style patented by architect Ithiel Town, with its exterior clad in vertical board siding and topped by a gabled metal roof. The siding does not fully cover the sides, leaving a strip exposed for light, and extends partway inside each portal. The bridge is about 137 feet (42 m) long and 25 feet (7.6 m) wide, carrying a single lane of traffic.
The bridge was built in 1886, and is managed by a joint committee of the two towns. It is one of a small number of 19th-century covered bridges that remain in the state. The bridge notably survived a major flooding event in the 1930s, when the textile mills in Gilbertville were destroyed.
The state ordered the structure closed in August 2002 after an inspection concluded the bridge could not bear any more weight, due in part to insect infestation. The limit at the time was 6 short tons (5.4 t). In October 2010 the bridge reopened upon the completion of a $1.9 million reconstruction and restoration, and no longer has a weight limit. Wood taken from the bridge was divided between the towns; the Ware Historical Commission planned to use Ware's share of the wood to recreate other historic buildings.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampshire County, Massachusetts
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Worcester County, Massachusetts
- List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "NRHP nomination for Ware-Hardwick Covered Bridge". National Archive. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
- ^ "Our Covered Bridge". Ware Historical Society. Retrieved 2013-12-16.
- ^ "Vast majority of wood from original Gilbertville Covered Bridge connecting Ware, Hardwick given to Historical Commission". The Republic. January 11, 2012.
- ^ Worcester Telegram, October 16, 2010