Covered Wooden Bridges
By J. RICHARD GAINTNER
Local Authority and Lecturer on Covered Wooden Bridges
See Official Pennsylvania Dutch Guide Map for locations of covered bridges.
Always picturesque and just rare enough to arouse interest, the old covered wooden bridges are growing in popular appeal as their number diminishes. In fact, collecting pictures and lore about these structures has become a hobby of many persons. In Lancaster County there still remain a sufficient number that will whet the appetite of the most avid hobbyist.
These romantic old spans are dwindling in number as a result of age, disaster or demolition because of safety or highway improvements, but it is gratifying to know that of the 108 covered wooden structures that at one time crossed the creeks and streams of this county, there are less than 25 still standing.
That so many ancient spans have weathered the years is proof of the value of the barn-like roof. Care was expended in construction, too, and a sign was placed at the entrance to “Walk Your Horse” in order to avoid excessive vibration which might be harmful to the bridges. Today the sign reads “Warning, this bridge unsafe for loads greater than 5 Tons.” Even though they withstand time and weather, flood and storm, they are highly vulnerable to fire.
Covered bridges are sometimes erroneously thought to date from the Colonial and Revolutionary War periods. Actually, many of the founding fathers, including George Washington, never saw a covered bridge. The first one was built across the Schuylkill River at Philadelphia in 1805. Nine years afterward, in 1814, a covered bridge was built across the Susquehanna at Columbia and Wrightsville which was then and still remains “The longest covered wooden bridge in the world,” with a length of 5,620 feet. This bridge was destroyed by ice in 1832. A second structure, built in 1834, was burned in 1863, during the war between the States to prevent the Confederate cavalry from crossing the river. A third covered wooden span was erected at this site in 1868 and was destroyed by a violent windstorm in 1896.
Photo by Jim Hess
STONE ARCH EARTHEN BRIDGE FOREGROUND AND COVERED WOODEN BRIDGE BACKGROUND, NORTH OF LANCASTER
Photo by Jim Hess
Feeding the ducks and geese, 6 mi. E. of Lancaster on U.S. 30.
Most of the covered structures are maintained by Lancaster County, four jointly with nearby counties, and here are found some of the most picturesque and unique settings of all. They are well preserved, painted and repaired regularly, and with continued care will last another hundred years. You’ll find them on the back roads, off the main thoroughfares, back where the dirt roads twist and turn around a barn or a wood, you’ll go down a hill over a half dozen “thank-you-moms” and there tucked away in some of Lancaster’s most harmonious settings you’ll find the most romantic covered wooden bridges you’ve ever seen. And maybe, if you tarry a while you’ll see a couple of fishermen, because that’s where the biggest trout are found, or maybe it’s a favorite swimming hole for the neighborhood youngsters.
The shortest covered bridge in Lancaster County is just west of Long Park, near Oreville. It measures 53 feet long. The longest covered span in Lancaster County was destroyed by fire in 1970. This bridge, known as “Second Lock Bridge,” was 349 feet long and crossed the Conestoga just off New Danville Pike, south of Conestoga Memorial Cemetery. The last covered bridge to be built was in 1891 over the Cocalico one-half mile north of Akron.
It is hoped this bit of Americana, of which Lancaster County has been blessed with the second largest number in Pennsylvania—those romantic symbols of an earlier day—may be preserved for posterity as historical monuments.