Covered Bridges in Central Massachusetts
There are nine covered bridges in Massachusetts. If one is so minded there is actually 10 with one being up towards Gloucester. But you have to look over the fence into someone’s backyard to see it.
Putting covered bridges on your list is a great way to have an excuse to go explore. You never know what you’ll find.
Arthur A. Smith Covered Bridge
There is a map down below but you can start with any of these bridges to begin your travels. So let’s start with the letter A.
Lisa and I used the Massachusetts Gazetteer and this bridge was easy to find. I’d suggest late afternoon in mid-October to get good light on the hill behind the bridge. Maybe you’ll get lucky with the sky as well.
Bissell Covered Bridge – Massachusetts
The Bissell is in Charlemont Massachusetts and relatively easy to find. But like almost all covered bridges, you need a good map book like the gazetteers or a specific book on covered bridges to locate them. (I have an affiliate link to Amazon if needed)
The Bissell Bridge allows heath road (Route 8A) to cross Mill Brook. We are very lucky to still have this covered bridge. In the mid-1900 it was condemned but when the state wanted to replace it with a steel bridge, the town made their voices heard and the state replaced it with a code-certified wooden covered bridge.
Burkeville Covered Bridge
The Burkeville covered bridge is also known as Conway covered bridge because you can find it in Conway Massachusetts. The bridge carries the Main Poland Road over the South River and is a single-lane.
Here is a Map to the Burkeville covered bridge.
Tannery Covered Bridge
South of the earlier covered bridges you will find the Tannery covered bridge but be careful what you search for. If you go looking for it, Google may take you to New Hampshire instead…
Don’t search for the Tannery Covered Bridge in Massachusetts. It will give you everything BUT this Tannery Bridge. It really does exist but it doesn’t come up as a covered bridge in search. So search instead for just the Tannery Bridge and Google will find it. depending on what map you look at, it is in New Boston or Sandisfield Massachusetts just off Route 8.
Eunice Williams Covered Bridge (A Haunted Bridge)
It’s most widely known as the Eunice Williams Covered Bridge, it’s also known as the Pumping Station Covered Bridge (the local town gets water sourced from the Green River). A bridge has stood there since around the 1870s. In 1930 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts placed a historic marker (that is now missing) next to the covered bridge commemorating it as the location where Eunice Williams lost her life.
It was on Halloween night, 1969, that the bridge caught fire and was destroyed. They say arson was the cause of the fire. The bridge was completely rebuilt in 1972.
In 2014 it had several repairs due to damage by Hurricane Irene. This used to be a popular fishing and swimming spot, but in 2018 a fence was installed in order to deter vandalism and littering.
If you are interested in reading about this “haunted” covered bridge here is an article on Yankee’s website.
Other covered bridges in Massachusetts and a Map
- Pepperell Massachusetts covered bridge
- Dummerston covered bridge (plus entrance bridge)
- Ware–Hardwick Covered Bridge
- The Old Covered Bridge or Sheffield covered bridge
There is also a secret one in/near Gloucester as well but this isn’t a covered bridge to go after… Unless you want to.
Jeff Foliage Folger
Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage
- Visit my Fine Art America Gallery
- Visit my Amazon store to pick up New England-related materials
- Visit my Pictorem Gallery (Free shipping in the US and Canada)
- My Facebook foliage page
- Threads.net/@Jeff_Foliage
- Follow our new Fall Foliage FB Group!
- You can visit Lisa’s Artist Facebook Page by clicking here
Love seeking out covered bridges. The Eunice William’s Bridge photo is awesomely chilling. Thank you for the information to find these covered bridges.
Mary Penedo
Cranston RI
Well Mary I did a lot of playing with the digital art on the EWCB and some just aren’t always that pretty. but they fascinate me all the same… sometimes you can’t make a good picture out of these bridges which is why I don’t have a link to all the ones I’ve captured (about 125 so far).
But I always seem to have a few more to get…