The bridge that outlasted the mills

The Ware–Hardwick Covered Bridge is basically a 19th-century survivor with a penchant for staying upright when everything else is going underwater. It spans the Ware River, connecting the village of Gilbertville to Ware.

The local textile mills didn't get the memo about flood safety in the 1930s. They were completely destroyed by the water, but this bridge just sat there and took the hit. It is a single-span lattice truss, a specific design patented by an architect named Ithiel Town. It features vertical board siding and a gabled metal roof, with just enough gaps in the wood to let in light without letting the whole thing rot.

It eventually ran into some non-military problems, like an insect infestation and some structural fatigue that forced a closure in 2002. The state didn't trust it to carry more than six short tons. It took a $1.9 million reconstruction job to get it back into service in 2010.

Today, it carries a single lane of traffic without a weight limit. The wood pulled from the old structure was split between the two towns. Ware planned to use its share to build some other historic replicas.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons