Choate Bridge, Spanning Ipswich River at South Main Street, Ipswich, Essex County, MA

Significance: The Choate Bridge is an example of early stone construction in the history of American road building. The Essex County Court voted in December, 1764 to name the bridge in honor of Col. John Choate, who supervised construction. The bridge originally measured 80'6" long and 20'6" wide in 1764. In 1838 the bridge was widened to 35'6" on the east side. The west side and parapet of the bridge, along with the inscription to Col. Choate, remain unchanged. / Choate Bridge ranks among the oldest, if not the oldest, extant bridges in Massachusetts. Built in 1764 to replace a succession of earlier timber spans, it survives basically unaltered with two elliptical stone arches and a battered stone parapet or "guard wall." The bridge is representative of period technology. It was widened to its present 35' 6" in 1838. The bridge was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places August 21, 1972.
Survey number: HAER MA-81
Building/structure dates: 1764 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1838 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 72000137