Here are two more shots that you may find interesting (If you have problems viewing this, please leave a comment so that I will know...)
Wagoner's Bridge in Winter by =arkansawyer on deviantART
Kochenderfer Bridge by =arkansawyer on deviantART
In Pennsylvania, there are a ton of old barns and churches and cornfields and all sorts of things like that. This past weekend, however, on a trip into the woods with my son, we detoured, and by memory I found a few of the covered bridges of Perry County.
According to perrypa.net there are fifteen covered bridges in Perry County, Pennsylvania (one county west of Dauphin County, where I live). I didn't look this up before our trip, and just blindly stumbled across a couple, and remembered where a couple more were, and visited a total of five bridges, which will be featured here. I really encourage anyone who likes my shots to visit the Perrypa.net and ohiobarns sites for more information. All of the information referenced here, except that of my own personal observations, were extracted from these two sites.
Wagoner's Mill Bridge
The first bridge we visited was Wagoner's Mill Bridge (also has been called Thompson Bridge). It was at the same time my own favorite of those we visited, and the one that made me the saddest, and I hope there are plans to revive the bridge before it collapses someday.
It is closed off - inaccessible to the public. You can pull off the main road, and look at the structure, but it's got a gate across it to keep out the curious.
One end leans precariously.... Not terribly but at the same time enough to definitely get your attention. From the side, some boards are beginning to come loose. This is one that it would be really nice to see someone apply for a grant to restore it to it's former glory. For now though, I did get a few pictures of it, and I think I like this one the best, overall - even if you cannot see the entire structure in it. A wintertime shot may be seen in the ohiobarns link below.
This bridge is located in Tyrone Twp., (east of Fort Robinson) about 1-1/2 miles west of Loysville. It is located on an abandoned section of Route 274. The bridge crosses Bixler's Run. It was built in 1889 by Joseph D. Lightner. It is 84 feet long and 17 feet wide. This Burr-arch bridge is located near the remains of Wagoner's Mill.
(Note: Another site listed the length as 93') For more information see http://www.ohiobarns.com/covbri/pa/perr/38-50-15.html
and http://www.perrypa.net/wagoner.htm
Adair's Bridge
After leaving Wagoner's Bridge, we drove west along Rt 274, and soon I saw a road that just "felt" right. I've been to see these bridges before, but it's been a few years, and I figured that this was the right area. So I turned off and headed for the next one, which turned out to be Adair's Bridge.
This bridge is located in Madison Twp., just south of Cisna Run on Couchtown Road (SR 3008), east of Andersonburg. It was originally built in 1864. The bridge crosses Sherman's Creek. The bridge is sometimes called the Cisna Mill Bridge. This is a 176-foot-long bridge. Adair's bridge was damaged by flood & rebuilt in 1919. It's a Burr Arch Truss and the builder is unknown.
This following image shows one of the most fascinating things about the covered bridges, and how they were made decades ago and still hold up to day-to-day traffic (within limits). The joint is a classic Mortise and Tenon held together with wooden pin(s).
For more information about Adair's Bridge, visit http://www.ohiobarns.com/covbri/pa/perr/38-50-04.html and http://www.perrypa.net/adair.htm
Book's Bridge
The next bridge we visited was... well... it was the most "perfect" bridge. That is to say, the newest. It had fresh concrete pilings, and new wood and paint, and steel rods reinforcing it.
There was nothing wrong with Book's Bridge, but I was at one time impressed with the fact that they spent so much time building a bridge with such style in this day and age, and disappointed that it didn't feel old.
The original bridge was closed to traffic in 1992. It was 70 feet long and was built in 1884. It is located on State Route 3003, about a half mile south of Route 274 and about one mile southwest of Blain, where it spans Sherman's Creek.
In 2004, it was basically torn down and rebuilt, in the old style but with new materials. More info including some very interesting shots of the bridge during reconstruction may be found at the following links http://www.ohiobarns.com/covbri/pa/perr/38-50-13.html http://www.perrypa.net/book.htm Note that the ohiobarns page only has information concerning the original - not rebuilt, Book's Bridge.
Mount Pleasant Bridge
The Mount Pleasant Bridge was built in 1918 and is located on Mt Pleasant Road in Jackson Twp., just south of State Route 274, where is spans Sherman's Creek. It is a 60 foot long Burr Arch Variant Truss, built by L.M. Wentzel. You will notice, unlike the first few bridges, the Mount Pleasant Bridge (and the New Germantown, below, have angular trusses, instead of the rounded arch that was typically used in Burr Arch construction - thus the term "variant").
For more information visit http://www.ohiobarns.com/covbri/pa/perr/38-50-12.html and http://www.perrypa.net/pleasant.htm
New Germantown Bridge
The last bridge we visited was the New Germantown Bridge, named after the nearby village of New Germantown, PA (and it was named, according to a road sign as you enter the village, after Germantown, PA, near Philadelphia). This bridge was very similar in looks and construction to the Mount Pleasant Bridge.
The New Germantown Bridge is a 75-foot bridge that was built in 1891. It is located on Township Route 302, just southeast of New Germantown, in Toboyne Township, and spans Sherman's Creek. It is the westernmost of the covered bridges in Perry County. This bridge is in very nice shape. It has a new roof and some huge I-beams holding it up from below. It is a Burr Arch Variant Truss, built by John W. Fry.
For more information and some very interesting photos, refer to http://www.ohiobarns.com/covbri/pa/perr/38-50-11.html and http://www.perrypa.net/germantown.htm
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