Back in early March, we spent a weekend in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where the youngest was participating in a regional volleyball tournament. We’ve been to the area years ago and even did some sightseeing back then, so I did not initially form any specific plans for exploration.
But then the tournament schedule offered an entire half-day without any games for our team, and while the teen was happy to sleep in and my better half was content to take it easy, I needed to be out and about. So I indulged my long-held desire to survey a type of structure that I have never found time to see in close proximity before – the covered bridge.
In the early-to-mid-19th century, the expansion of road networks in rural areas brought about a bridge-building boom. This was before the advent of iron and steel in reinforced construction, so structural trusses were made of timber. Weather-induced decay limited their expected lifespan to just a couple of decades; sometimes the bridges became unusable and required rebuilding within just a few years. A relatively simple solution of covering the bridge with a roof and walls lengthened its functional life to well over a century. Within about fifty years, thousands of covered bridges were constructed all over the country.
Of those, just a few hundred remain today; the rest have been gradually replaced by more modern and durable metal crossings. New Jersey has a single remaining historic bridge, an hour and a half away from where we live. Pennsylvania, conversely, has over two hundred of those – the most of any state in the nation. Quite a few are located in Lancaster County, reasonably close to each other, so that a circuit connecting several bridges can be navigated in the space of two or three hours.
My circuit in the end included 11 bridges. Armed with only a phone, I did not spend too much time and effort looking for additional photographic angles, so each stop was relatively short, consisting of reading the information board, taking a few pictures, walking over the bridge, and then also driving over; in a couple of instances, there wasn’t an obvious space to leave the car, so I didn’t even walk around. It is not a terrible exaggeration that once you’ve seen one or two of these structures, you’ve seen them all – there is not too much variety in features between them. I kept thinking, “I still have time, let’s see if the next one brings something different”, and thus continued from one location to another until I absolutely had to go back to attend to the main purpose of the trip – cheering for my kid. Here is a brief collection of visuals from that run-about.
Landis Mill Covered Bridge, built in 1873 over Little Conestoga Creek, is the shortest surviving covered bridge, at only 53 feet long.
Architecture connoisseurs will find a unique feature at this bridge: it is the only one with the king post truss construction, which is primarily suitable for shorter spans. Since I did not think of taking a featured picture of the beams, you will have to take that fact on faith.
Hunsecker’s Mill Covered Bridge is, conversely, the longest single-span covered bridge in the county, at 180 feet. Standing over the Conestoga River, it is actually not the original structure, but a comparatively recent reconstruction of the bridge originally built in 1843 and swept away in floods multiple times between then and 1973, when this latest version was installed.
I was actually quite surprised to learn that a fully wooden structure was reconstructed so recently. Probably because it is not designated as “historic” due to that 20th-century rebuild, it is not painted red, as is the standard for historic covered bridges.
Inside the bridge, you can see the truss construction known as double Burr arches, which is again a rarity.
Pinetown Covered Bridge, also over Conestoga, has been standing at its spot since 1868.
Zook’s Mill Covered Bridge has provided a crossing over Cocalico Creek since 1849.
Earlier bridges had solid walls. Occasional windows were added to them only at much later dates to improve visibility and ventilation.
Keller’s Mill Covered Bridge is another outlier – the only bridge painted white.
That departure in the color scheme may be indirectly due to the fact that this is not the bridge as it was originally built over Cocalico Creek in 1873. It was rebuilt at least once before the end of the century due to flooding damage. In 2006, it was completely dismantled and replaced with a steel-and-concrete bridge. And after that, in 2009, the 19th-century structure was reassembled a few miles downstream in a different location, where we find it today.
Erb’s Mill Covered Bridge was first built over Hammer Creek in 1849 and last rebuilt in 1887.
Forry’s Mill Covered Bridge spans Chiques Creek and has stood on this spot since 1869.
It’s one of the easiest to get a full view from the side, given the relatively open meadow on its northern side. (I am pretty sure that I did not trespass on anyone’s private land.)
Siegrist’s Mill Covered Bridge also spans Chiques Creek and is among the youngest covered bridges in the area with respect to the original construction date of 1885.
It is probably the most accessible bridge for exploring from all angles, given plenty of space to leave the car and several paths leading to the creek on both sides.
Most covered bridges employ single Burr arches as the truss construction mode. You may have glimpsed some of those in earlier shots, and here is the best example of that.
Shenck’s Mill Covered Bridge, also on Chiques Creek, dates from 1847, but was rebuilt just a few years following its opening, in 1855.
Here is something relatively unique – it is one of only three bridges in the county with horizontal side boards.
Kauffman’s Distillery Covered Bridge, yet another span over Chiques Creek, was first built in 1857 and rebuilt in 1874.
Finally, Shearer’s Mill Covered Bridge, first built in 1847, is the only bridge that is painted entirely red, inside and outside, with no white anywhere. And it also features horizontal side boards.
Standing over the same Chiques Creek, it is again a relocated specimen, moved to its present location in the Manheim Memorial Park in 1971.
The location means that it is fully pedestrianized, which is another unique feature among covered bridges in Lancaster County.
I suppose enough is enough. I know a lot more about the covered bridge construction now that I researched the history and features of every bridge included in this group. I doubt I will explicitly plan another such set in the future, but no doubt if I randomly come upon another covered bridge somewhere, my appreciation of the landmark will only be enhanced by this brief sightseeing outing.