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.
[Illustration: Photo by Jim Hess
STONE ARCH EARTHEN BRIDGE FOREGROUND AND COVERED
WOODEN BRIDGE BACKGROUND, NORTH OF LANCASTER]
[Illustration: 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.