Date Of Visit: December 26, 2016
Location: Bridge St (no really, it’s called Bridge St) and Old Gilbertville Rd, Ware – Hardwick, MA
Cost: Free
Hours:Open everyday, 24 hours a day
Parking: Despite the signs to the contrary, you can park on the side of the road on Bridge St. Parking isn’t available on the other side which leads to Old Gilbertville Rd.
Handicapped Accessible: Yes
Highlights: Covered Bridge in Central Mass
Many years ago, wooden bridges, particularly covered bridges used to dot the landscapes of Massachusetts.
Now, Massachusetts only has about a dozen covered bridges that you can drive on. Although it may not seem sturdy, the Ware-Hardwick Bridge, also known as the Granville Bridge because the bridge is in the unincorporated village of Gilbertville which is considered part of Hardwick, is one of the few remaining traffic worthy covered bridges in Massachusetts.
The Ware-Hardwick Bridge, or Hardwick-Ware Bridge depending on which way you’re traveling, is 139.1 feet long and is 130.9 feet at its largest span. It is 19.7 feet wide and 14.4 feet tall. I suspect trucks would have to seek alternate routes because of the low clearance. But, according to the state Department of Transportation, there currently is no weight limit for vehicles passing through. Trucks wouldn’t typically use this bridge, in any event, since it is located on a side road.
The Ware-Hardwick Bridg crosses the Ware River which was relatively calm and iced over in some parts during my visit.
The bridge, which is a covered through lattice wooden single-web, double-chord truss design, was originally built in 1887 according to public records, despite the sign bearing the year 1886 just above the entrance on the Ware side. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 8, 1986, roughly 100 years after it was originally built.
The original bridge only had a capacity of 6 “short tons” (5.4 tons). It was closed down in 2002 to restore the structural integrity of the bridge due in part to an insect infestation. The bridge re-opened in October, 2010 after a $1.9 million restoration project.
Fun fact: the bridge was one of the few bridges to survive a major flooding on the Ware River in 1936.
Below is a video of us driving over the bridge.
January 4th, 2017 at 10:37 pm
This one is lovely.
I think we only have 3 in Calif. left and one of those is in a theme park. I’ve visited them all. One you can drive on, and the other one is now part of a park only foot traffic is allowed to cross that one now.
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January 5th, 2017 at 2:24 am
Thank you! It is so sad to see them go away, isn’t it? I also noticed one of the covered bridges on the list of covered bridges in Massachusetts is in a park. I kind of thinking of that as cheating since it’s not on a road or path that is in a town or city setting.
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January 5th, 2017 at 2:33 am
That’s how I feel about the covered bridge in Disneyland! 🙂 I printed out a list of all the covered bridges in the States with the hopes of finding them if I was lucky enough to be near any.
I’ve been house hunting in NV and thought to dig out the list last month and found there is at least one possibly two near where I’ve been looking for a house. One is on private land so I probably won’t be seeing it anytime soon. The other one is on my list to look for.
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January 5th, 2017 at 2:43 am
That is really cool! I plan on seeing and photographing all of the covered bridges in MA since there aren’t that many left and who knows how long they will be around,
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January 4th, 2017 at 10:40 pm
These bridges always remind me of the movie Beetlejuice !
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January 5th, 2017 at 2:25 am
Just don’t say his name three times when you go over the bridge! I hear bad stuff happens when you do that! ( :
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January 4th, 2017 at 11:03 pm
I totally love these bridges. Back in Vermont I couldn’t get enough of them. I think I made hundreds of pictures …
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January 5th, 2017 at 2:28 am
Aren’t they beautiful? I also respect the craftsmanship and hard labor that was necessary to build these bridges way before we had the machines to do some of the work we use now. Some people I know think “it’s a bridge” and don’t give it another thought. I think of them as being like works of art.
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January 5th, 2017 at 12:37 am
I love covered bridges
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January 5th, 2017 at 2:29 am
I do too! They give the area such a quaint and rural feel.
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January 5th, 2017 at 2:16 am
Quite fantastic. I love covered bridges!! Vermont has so many of them too.
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January 5th, 2017 at 2:46 am
Thank you! Yes, there are over 100 covered bridges in Vermont! It would take me a while to visit and photograph all of them! They’re a lot of fun to drive across, too!
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January 5th, 2017 at 3:15 am
Perhaps I’ll get to hear from you again soon? 😉
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January 5th, 2017 at 4:45 am
Of course ( :
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January 5th, 2017 at 4:52 am
xx
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January 5th, 2017 at 3:45 am
I’ve seen this featured on Chronicle! How cool. Would love to see this and many others!
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January 5th, 2017 at 4:47 am
That is cool! I would like to see that episode. Maybe I can find it on youtube or somewhere. I am sure I will be photographing more bridges in the future!
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January 5th, 2017 at 10:35 pm
I bet you would. Hopefully I remembered it right and actually am talking about the same bridge 🙊 but in any case I think this project is awesome !
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January 5th, 2017 at 7:48 am
A beautiful old bridge!
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January 5th, 2017 at 12:20 pm
Subtle reminders of a simpler time.
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January 5th, 2017 at 3:32 pm
1886! What a beautiful bridge!
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January 5th, 2017 at 5:28 pm
I love covered bridges, but we don’t have many in my area. Thanks for sharing!
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January 6th, 2017 at 2:09 pm
They are pretty rare in most areas unfortunately. Thank you, Ann!
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January 6th, 2017 at 3:55 pm
I used to live near a lot of covered bridges – so many that there is even a festival (it’s near Terre Haute, Indiana). We don’t have many in Wisconsin – the Internet says 6 – so it’s nice to see one again!
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January 6th, 2017 at 4:54 pm
It’s always a nice surprise to see an old covered bridge since they are so uncommon, at least in Massachusetts. That festival sounds like it would be fun!
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January 6th, 2017 at 7:07 pm
It gets really busy! Because I lived there, if you wanted to actually see and enjoy the bridges, it was usually easier to go the rest of the year.
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January 6th, 2017 at 3:57 pm
Beautiful bridge. I used to live in VT and the covered bridges were such delights… and very New England 😀
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January 6th, 2017 at 5:01 pm
Vermont has some beautiful covered bridges! I drove over the Cornish Bridge last year. It’s such a cool bridge. I plan on seeing some more of them this year! Thank you.
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January 8th, 2017 at 8:50 pm
Beautiful bridge, I’ve never seen one in the flesh, only on movies and TV, but they’re very atmospheric.
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January 8th, 2017 at 10:41 pm
Yes it’s a wonderful bridge! Well, then you must go see one asap! They’re so much fun to drive on! Thank you, Andrea.
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