Nomination for Ware--Hardwick Covered Bridge

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10.900 (3-82) OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries-complete applicable sections 1. Name For NPS use only received APR 9 1986 date entered MAY 8 1986 historic, Ware-Hardwick Covered Bridge and or common 2. Location Gilbertville Bridge street & number Old Gilbertville Road/Bridge Street N/A not for publication city, town Ware/Hardwick N/Avicinity of state MA 3. Classification code 025 Hampshire county Worcester code 015 027 Category district building(s) X structure site object Ownership Xpublic - private both Public Acquisition in process being considered N/A 4.

Owner of Property Status in use - occupied - unoccupied work in progress Accessible - yes: restricted X yes: unrestricted no Present Use - agriculture commercial educational entertainment government industrial military museum park - private residence _ religious scientific transportation x other: Bridge name Town of Ware/Town of Hardwick street & number Ware Town Hall/Hardwick Town Hall city, town Ware/Hardwick N/A vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Hampshire County Courthouse/Worcester County Courthouse street & number King Street/2 Main Street city, town Northampton/Worcester 6. Representation in Existing Surveys state Massachusetts title Comprehensive Survey of Ware has this property been determined eligible? yes - no date 1983 Inv.

#901 federal state county local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town Bostoylston Street state Massachusetts 7. Description Ware - Hardwick Covered Bridge, Ware, Massachusetts Condition _ excellent good x fair .deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one - unaltered altered as noted Check one -X original site _moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The covered bridge over the Ware River at the village of Gilbertsville, Massachusetts links the towns of Ware in Hampshire County and Hardwick Worcester County. The single span is at right angles to the Old Gilbertsville Road from Ware Village; the road makes a sharp right turn into the bridge from the Ware side, and continues straight onto Bridge Street in Gilbertsville on the Hardwick side. The bridge is a Town lattice truss, constructed on the principle patented by Ithiel Town in 1820. Its dimensions are approximately 25 by 137 feet. The continuous web of diagonal members that forms the trusses is pegged together with cylindrical wooden treenails, two at each intersection and three through the top and bottom chords. Both deck and superstructure have been reinforced with iron rods, bolts and tie bars.

Theexterior cladding of the bridge consists of vertical planks extended from the bottom of the trusses to within a few feet of the eaves; above this point the trusses are exposed and light is admitted. The cladding is brought several yards into the tunnel at either end. The exterior siding was replaced as recently as 1954, but a number of planks are missing. The roof is asphalt and the deck is planked with boards laid at right angles to the line of traffic. The portals of the bridge are shouldered, with vertical siding on the uprights and horizontal siding across the gables. The exterior is painted barn-red, trimmed with white on the Hardwick side. The portals are disfigured with graffiti, particularly on the more isolated Ware side. 00B235 Nowose NecEY .UCO 9T0ns 15 iee d8 ris sifpa 08c. g: 2001 PinDeEs DgY 8.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Ware - Hardwick Covered Bridge, Ware, Massachusetts Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X 1800-1899 1900 Areas of Significance - Check and justify below archeology-prehistoric community planning archeology-historic conservation agriculture economics architecture education art X engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications industry invention landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy politics government Builder/Architect unknown religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1886 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) The Ware-Hardwick bridge at Gilbertsville has unusual significance as one of only four 19th century wooden bridges, roofed to protect their structural Massecsusetts.ain ane present rarist odi so inbridges ing iass cousttos iin The present rarity of such bridges in Massachusetts is in contrast to their former importance in the Commonwealth as elsewhere in. 19th century New England. Timothy Palmer and William Howe, inventors of two of the early trussing systems, were natives of Massachusetts. Ithiel. Town, who, in 1820, patented the "Town Lattice Mode" on which the Gilbertsville bridge is based, designed the impressive covered toll bridgewhich for 102 years spanned the Connecticut River at Springfield. Northeast, In his book Covered Bridges of the Richard Sanders Allen distributed over Massachusetts.

"2states that "well over T0D roofed spans were Of the various structural systems available, Town's lattice truss was particularly attractive to local builders; fo a trysses contrnued to be erected ne tal Engl and Tong after teniet tomtaad Toum ervsseg Continued to be erected in iew England tond Ater Tehiet romniead on a dense web of simple, diagonally crossing planks. patent had expired. Two of the Commonwealth's four in situ covered bridges are constructed on the Town truss system; the Gilbertsville bridge, erected in the 1880s is evidence of the lingering appeal of the system. As a still-functional example of this important and now rare 19th century engineering type, the covered bridge at Gilbertsville is nominated to the National Register under criterion C, as it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, and method of construction.

"The beauti ful manufacturing village of Gilbertsville"3 to which this bridge leads, was founded in 1860. in that year the George H. Gilbert Company, a voolen manutacturing firm in Ware Village, purchased a water power in the adjoining town of Hardwick. Four large mills and 200 tenements were reported for the village in an 1888-89 directory. in the Ware Town Records for the 1880s. However, there is a reference in an 1892 directory of Gilbertsville to Bridge Street as the name of the public way "from Highland Avenue to the covered bridge. The bridge can date no earlier than 1884, since a photograph published in 1885 and including an 1884 Congregational Parsonage, shows the present site of the bridge with a millpond, but without a span. The 1886 date, though it derives from an unspecified source, is therefore a reasonable one.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References See Attached Sheet 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property less than one Quadrangle name_Ware UTM References ^L18|12/219/71410 416 81771710 Zone Easting Northing LILLL Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 LILu ILULILILIL Zone LiLLIlILu Easting Northing LuLu LILILu LuL LILEEL LIL Verbal boundary description and justification The nominated property includes the covered bridge across the Ware River between the Old Gilbertville Road in the Town of Ware and Bridge Street in the village of Gilbertville, Town of Hardwick; the super structure of the bridge, its abutments and approaches are included in the nomination. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state Massachusetts code 025 county Hampshire code 015 state code county Worcester code 027 11.

Form Prepared By name/title Patricia Wright organization Historic Preservation Consultant to Ware date November, 1985 Historical Commission street & number 16 Arnold Avenue 1-R telephone (413) 584-2770 city or town Northampton, state Massachusetts 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national - state X local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89 665),I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.

State Historic Preservation Oficer signature Vaeeuie A Talmage Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission titleState Historic Preservation Officer date Apsil 1,1986 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Nelaruyu Farb ncod Jkeepe of tho Maltional Rogester National Registen date 5/8/86 Attest: date Chief of Registration U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1983 0 - 419-311 NPS Form 10-900-a 3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Ware - Hardwick Covered Bridgeltem number Ware and Hardwick, MA OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use only received date entered Page 1 FOOTNOTES 1. The others are also in Western Massachusetts, in the towns of Sheffield, Conway, and Lyonsville. 2.

Allen, Covered Bridges of the Northeast, 1983, p. 68. Allen reported that over 500 covered bridges were built in Vermont, of which he catalogued over 90 survivors. Directory of Ware and Gilbertsville, Thorndike and Three Rivers, 1888-89, p. 25. 4. Capron, R.E., ed., Directory and Handbook of Town of Ware, 1892. NPS Form 10-000-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form 1B No. 1024-00 p. 10-31- For NPS use only received date entered Continuation sheet Wara- Hardwick Covered Bridgeltem number 9 Page 1 Ware and Hardwick, MA MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES: Allen, Brataredsao, Ve, Covered eridees of thelortes,t (Reyised Edition). Brattleboro, Vermont: Capron, R.E., ed., Directory and Handbook of Town of Ware. Ware, Massachusetts: T982.

Directory of Ware and Gilbertsville, Thorndike and Three Rivers, for 1888-89. ware, Massachusetts, 1888. Eddy, George W., Gilbertsville_Illustrated. Ware, Massachusetts, 1885. Hengen, Elizabeth Durfee, Ware: An Architectural and Historical Overview, (Ware Comprehensive Survey), 1983. (copies on file with Massachusetts Historical Commission, Boston, Ware Historical Commission, And Young Men's Library Association, Ware Massachusetts). Howard, Andrew, Covered Bridges of Massachusetts: a guide. Unionville, Connecticut: The Village Press, 1978. Wagemann, Clara, Covered Bridges of New England (Revised Edition). Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1952.

86001006 WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Ware--Hardwick Covered Bridge Hampshire County (also in Worcester County) MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: L sample request APR Working No. Fed. Reg. Datezy242 Date Due: - Action: LACCEPT Sabeced ix _ RETURN Mational Regisbon _REJECT- Federal Agency: -appeal -NR decision Recom./Criteria Reviewer - Discipline. Date see continuation sheet 9 1986 5/24186 8/86 Nomination returned for: - _technical corrections cited below substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Category Ownership Public Acquisition 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes no 7. Description Condition excellent good deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one - unaltered altered Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection Status Accessible Present Use Check one - original site moved date 8. Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Builder/Architect Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Jsummary paragraph completeness clarity J applicable criteria J justification of areas checked J relating significance to the resource context J relationship of integrity to significance J justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10.

Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: _national state local State Historic Preservation Officer signature date title 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to - Signed- - Date Phone: _ GPO 918-450 Comments for any item maybe continued on an attached sheet LANDEI GiVES HEAD ROAD UNDER REPAIR LAT THEIR OWN RISK Ware-Hardwick Covered Bridge Ware and Hardwick, Mass. Ware River between 0ld Gilbert- ville Road (Ware) and Bridge Street (Hardwick).

Photograph by: Patricia Wright Date: Julv 1984 Location of Negétive: Collectio of Ware Historical Commission, Ware, Massachusetts Photo #1 of 1 IHELRBIAD The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of State Michael Joseph Connolly, Secretary Massachusetts Historical Commission Valerie A. Talmage Executive Director State Historic Preservation Officer March 31, 1986 Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of Interior, National Park Service P.O. Box 37127 Washington, DC 20012-7127 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Ware, Church Street Historic District, Church Street between Park Avenue and Highland Street, 73 properties. ware, Ware Center Historic District, Route 9 east and west of Greenwich Plains Road, 20 properties. Ware, Ware-Hardwick Covered Bridge, Old Gilbertville Road/Bridge Street.

Ware, Ware Millyard Historic District, Roughly bounded by South Street, Ware River, Upper Dam Complex, Park Street, Otis Avenue and Church Street, 54 properties. ware, ware Town Hall, Main and West Streets. Al1 have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. Owners were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. Comments received to date are attached to the nomination forms. Sincerely, daral Zimmeman Sarah J. Zimmerman Director, Preservation Planning Massachusetts Historical Commission SJZ/1s 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470 APR 9 1986 March 3, 1992 NASSACHLS 0! RIC * *CONNESEI Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places National Park Service P.O. Box 37127 Washington, DC 20013-7127 Dear Ms.

Shull: Recently, it was noticed that several National Register nominations are missing from our files, the missing nominations include the following: Beacon Hill Hist. Dist. Boston (Suffolk County) the lester forwaced to tist.Div. for NHL NHL. 10/15/1966 NR H.D. 10/15/1966 files USS Cassin Young Boston (Suffolk County) NHL 1/14/1986 NR IND 1/14/1986 Ware-Hardwick Covered Bridge Ware (Hampshire County) Hardwick (Worcester County) NR IND 5/8/1986 3/6/92 American Antiquarian Society Worcester (Worcester County) NHL 11/24/1968 NR IND 11/24/ South Yarmouth-Bass River Hist. Dist. Yarmouth (Barnstable County) NR H.D.

5/29/1990 Minuteman National Historic Park Concord (Middlesex County) NHL 10/15/1966 NR IND 10/15/1966 Old Manse Concord (Middlesex County) NHL 10/15/1966 NR IND 10/15/1966 Due to cecent planning issues, we would greatly appreciate you forwarding complete copies of these nominations (including all maps and photos), to our office as soon as possible. It you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at this office. Sincerely, Douglas J. Kelleher National Register Assistant Massachusetts listorical Conmission Massachusetts Historical Commission, Jadith B. McDonough, Executive Director, State Historir Preservation Officer 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470 Office of the Secretary of State, Michael J. Connolly, Secretan