It has been said that of nearly 270 covered bridges that were built in Massachusetts, only 13 remain, all of which have been renovated or entirely rebuilt in recent decades.

Most covered bridges, including 69 in Franklin County alone, were built in the western and central regions where winters are harsher, and the rivers more active due to the topography. Some of the massive structures that spanned the Connecticut and Merrimack Rivers were 800 feet or longer, including combination bridges at Montague City and Northfield that supported railroads across their roofs. Timothy Palmer’s 1792 open timber truss bridge at Amesbury was partially roofed in 1810.

Roughly one-third of the lost covered bridges were railroad bridges, which were privately owned and often short-lived due to fires. The ravages of time and nature - floods, ice, and wear account for many of these losses;  while others have been lost to arson or neglect.

In the 20th century, Massachusetts experienced a modest revival of timber-covered bridge construction. A handful of “Massachusetts modern” covered bridges were built in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s as replacements for historic wooden bridges too dilapidated to be saved.

Today, a handful of both the old and the new covered bridges of Massachusetts still stand. Among the seven surviving historic bridges, the fate of at least five is in question. This seems to be largely due to a lack of concern. However, in the last several years, the bridges have been under restoration, and things are looking up for the surviving bridges.

 Photographs were taken in July of 2019.