The following is a list of covered bridges in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania USA. Lancaster County has the most covered bridges in Pennsylvania with 28 covered bridges. Parke County, Indiana has the most covered bridges of any county in the United States with 31 covered bridges[1] All of the covered bridges in Lancaster County, except for the Hunsecker's Mill Covered Bridge, Kurtz's Mill Covered Bridge, and the Willow Hill Covered Bridge, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Most have been on the list since 1980.[2] The WGCB numbering prefix for the county is 38-36[3]
The bridges are an important tourist attraction, both economically and culturally. This is due to both their historical significance and, being in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, the frequent, iconic Amish horse and buggies bridge crossings. They are often visited in the form of covered bridge driving tours.[4]
In the early to late 1800s there were approximately 1,500 covered bridges in the state of Pennsylvania. That number has decreased to just over 200 bridges, with more located in Lancaster County than any other county in the state.[5] The remaining covered bridges in the county are a remnant of a time where most bridges in the United States were made from wood, since wood was relatively inexpensive and easy to acquire. Bridge making, however, was anything but easy and required significant cost, effort, and time. The cost of the building the bridges was covered by government funds or by private individuals building bridges across their land. Since the bridges were built from wood, they were covered to provide protection from the weather, dramatically extending the life of the bridges. Nevertheless, as floods and fires destroyed more bridges, they were eventually replaced or bypassed with more durable and longer-lasting reinforced concrete and steel beam bridges.[6] Most of the existing bridges are owned by the county government which is responsible for periodic upkeep and maintenance.[7]
Throughout the years, many of the existing covered bridges have been destroyed, but were later reconstructed. For example, in 1972 a number of the county's covered bridges were either destroyed or badly damaged as a result of flooding caused by Hurricane Agnes. Notably, the Zook's Mill Covered Bridge managed to survive despite being filled with a few feet of water. The Willow Hill Covered Bridge, a relatively new bridge built in 1962, is a reconstructed bridge using materials recovered from the old Miller's Farm and Good's Fording covered bridges.
The covered bridges in Lancaster County are all built of similar construction and appearance. Some of this is because many of the existing bridges were built by the same man, Elias McMellen, who built 12 of the existing bridges. The most common construction method used was that of the Burr arch truss. It is found in its single and double span forms in almost all of the covered bridges in the county, except for the Landis Mill Covered Bridge, a multiple kingpost design. The Pine Grove Covered Bridge and Herr's Mill Covered Bridge (now gone) are the county's only double span covered bridges. While most of the bridges are situated in remote locations where there is limited traffic, a number of the bridges, such as Jackson's Sawmill Covered Bridge, were later reinforced with steel beams underneath the bridge floor and steel hanger rods on the sides to support heavier traffic or give the bridge additional support.
Historically, the Lancaster County covered bridges were painted with red sides and all-white portals.[6] Today most of the bridges retain this pattern, however, some of the portals are painted red with white trim (such as on the Zook's Mill Covered Bridge) or all-red (such as on the Pool Forge Covered Bridge). A number of these bridges also have the side panels painted red on the inside of the bridge while leaving the trusses unpainted. The Keller's Mill Covered Bridge is painted all-white, the only one of its kind in the county. Three of the bridges, Buck Hill Covered Bridge, Schenck's Mill Covered Bridge, and Shearer's Covered Bridge, have horizontal side boards. The rest of the bridges have vertical side boards.
| Bridge[8] [9] | Image | WGCB Code | Truss Type | Length | Year | Original Builder | Open to Traffic? | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baumgardener's Covered Bridge | 38-36-25 | Burr arch truss | 1860 rebuilt 1987 | Davis Kitch | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-04 | Burr arch truss | 1846 | George Fink and Sam Reamsnyder | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Bucher's Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-12 | Burr arch truss | 1891 rebuilt 1892 | Elias McMellen | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Buck Hill Covered Bridge | 38-36-15 | Burr arch truss | 1825 rebuilt 1844 moved 1966 | Unknown | No (Foot traffic only if given permission by the owner) | ||||
| Colemanville Covered Bridge | 38-36-26 | Burr arch truss | 1856 rebuilt 1938 1973 and 1992 | James C. Carpenter | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Erb's Covered Bridge | 38-36-34 | Burr arch truss | 1849 rebuilt 1887 | Unknown | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Forry's Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-28 | Burr arch truss | 1869 rebuilt 1925 | Elias McMellen | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Hunsecker's Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-06 | Burr arch truss | 1843 rebuilt 1973 | John Russell | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Jackson's Sawmill Covered Bridge | 38-36-33 | Burr arch truss | 1878 rebuilt 1985 | John Smith and Samuel Stauffer | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Kauffman's Distillery Covered Bridge | 38-36-32 | Burr arch truss | 1857 rebuilt 1874 | James C. Carpenter | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Keller's Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-13 | Burr arch truss | 1873 rebuilt 1891 moved 2006 rebuilt 2009 reopened December 2010 | Elias McMellen | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Kurtz's Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-03 | Burr arch truss | 1876 destroyed during the Agnes flood of '72 moved to Lancaster County Central Park and last rebuilt by David Esh in 1975 | W. W. Upp | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Landis Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-16 | Multiple king post | 1873 | Elias McMellen | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Leaman's Place Covered Bridge | 38-36-20 | Burr arch truss | 1845 rebuilt 1893 | James C. Carpenter | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Lime Valley Covered Bridge | 38-36-23 | Burr arch truss | 1871 | Joseph Cramer or Elias McMellen | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Mercer's Mill Covered Bridge† | 38-36-38 | Burr arch truss | 1880 | B. J. Carter | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Neff's Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-22 | Burr arch truss | 1824 rebuilt 1875 rehabilitated 2018 | Christian Brackbill | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Pine Grove Covered Bridge† | 38-36-41 | Burr arch truss | 1884 | Elias McMellen | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Pinetown Bushong's Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-05 | Burr arch truss | 1867 rebuilt 1973 closed 2011 reopened January 2014 | Elias McMellen | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Pool Forge Covered Bridge | 38-36-01 | Burr arch truss | 1859 | Levi Fink and Elias McMellen | Yes | ||||
| Red Run Covered Bridge | 38-36-10 | Burr arch truss | 1866 | Elias McMellen | No (Private property) | ||||
| Schenck's Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-30 | Burr arch truss | 1847 rebuilt 1855 accidentally damaged by a truck on December 31, 2017 | Charles Malhorn and Levi Fink | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Shearer's Covered Bridge | 38-36-31 | Burr arch truss | 1847 rebuilt 1855 moved 1971 | Jacob Clare | No (Foot traffic only) | ||||
| Siegrist's Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-37 | Burr arch truss | 1885 withstood Agnes flood of '72 closed September 2011 reopened August 2013 | James C. Carpenter | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Weaver's Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-02 | Burr arch truss | 1878 | B. J. Carter and J. F. Stauffer | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| White Rock Forge Covered Bridge | 38-36-18 | Burr arch truss | 1847 rebuilt 1884 | John Russell and Elias McMellen | Yes (one lane) | ||||
| Willow Hill Covered Bridge | 38-36-43 | Burr arch truss | 1962 | Roy Zimmerman | No (Foot traffic only) | ||||
| Zook's Mill Covered Bridge | 38-36-14 | Burr arch truss | 1849 very little flooding from Cocalico Creek but has a high water marker from the Agnes 72 flood. | Henry Zook | Yes (one lane) |
†Located on the border between Lancaster County and Chester County
‡Located on the border between Lancaster County and York County