Misplaced Pages

Atherton Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Atherton Bridge, 1979
Show map of MassachusettsShow map of the United States
Location	Lancaster, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°26′41″N 71°40′19″W / 42.44472°N 71.67194°W / 42.44472; -71.67194
Built	1870
NRHP reference No.	79000377
Added to NRHP	September 19, 1979

The Atherton Bridge is a historic iron truss bridge in Lancaster, Massachusetts, spanning the South Branch of the Nashua River. It is a rare example of a hybrid pony truss that is similar to the 19th century truss design of Simeon S. Post. It was built by J. H. Cofrode & Co. of Philadelphia in 1870. It was the first iron bridge to be constructed in the town. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The bridge formerly carried Bolton Road, but was closed to vehicular traffic in 1975 and bypassed by a modern highway bridge in the 1980s.

The bridge remained open to pedestrian traffic until April 2020, when a flash flood damaged the bridge's wooden deck and it was closed to all traffic. The long-term future of the bridge is uncertain.

The sign commemorating Atherton Bridge states:

ATHERTON BRIDGE There has been a bridge at this location since early settlement. It is named for James Atherton, one of the signers of the petition for incorporation of the town in 1652. The 1794 map lists the bridge as 90 feet long on a county way Lancaster’s first iron bridge was placed here in 1870.

Technical information

The Atherton Bridge has iron compression posts that incline inward towards the center of the span and diagonal tension rods that incline outward towards the abutments. Unusual features include double end posts with adjustable turnbuckles, channeled castings to join the lower chord bars, and patented Phoenix columns for all inclined posts. This bridge does not make use of Simeon Post's patented joints. The floor beams support a wood plank deck.

The bridge is 72 feet (22 m) long and 18.5 feet (5.6 m) feet wide, and is composed of eight panels. It rests on granite abutments.

The bridge was photographed in 1979 by Jet Lowe of the Historic American Engineering Record, and documented in 1990 as part of the Massachusetts Historic Bridge Project. At that time, it was one of only two known examples of the Post type of truss still surviving.

See also

• Ponakin Bridge
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Worcester County, Massachusetts
• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Massachusetts
• List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
2. ^ Harshbarger, Patrick (August 1990). "Atherton Bridge" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
3. "Historic Bridges".
4. "Bridge Hunter which contains latest status on condition of this bridge".
5. "NRHP nomination for Atherton Bridge". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2015-10-01.

External links

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MA-17, "Atherton Bridge, Spanning Nashua River on Bolton Road, Lancaster, Worcester County, MA", 22 photos, 3 measured drawings, 24 data pages, 2 photo caption pages

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Barnstable Berkshire Bristol Dukes Essex Franklin Hampden Hampshire Middlesex Nantucket Norfolk Plymouth Suffolk Worcester (northern)
Lists by city	Barnstable County Barnstable Harwich Bristol County Fall River New Bedford Taunton Essex County Andover Gloucester Ipswich Lawrence Lynn Methuen Salem Hampden County Springfield Middlesex County Arlington Cambridge Concord Framingham Lexington Lowell Marlborough Medford Newton Reading Sherborn Somerville Stoneham Wakefield Waltham Weston Winchester Norfolk County Brookline Milton Quincy Suffolk County Boston northern southern Worcester County Southbridge Uxbridge Worcester eastern northwestern southwestern
Other lists	Bridges Cape Cod National Seashore National Historic Landmarks Boston
Category National Register of Historic Places portal United States portal

• Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
• Bridges in Worcester County, Massachusetts
• Pedestrian bridges in Massachusetts
• Former road bridges in the United States
• Buildings and structures in Lancaster, Massachusetts
• Historic American Engineering Record in Massachusetts
• National Register of Historic Places in Worcester County, Massachusetts
• 1870 establishments in Massachusetts