Welcome to the Pennsylvania Covered Bridge web site, we are dedicated to the preservation and restoration of all remaining covered bridges through out the United States. Nearly 14000 authentic wooden covered bridges once existed in our Nation. Today less than 900 remain. Time and technology took its toll on the bridges until recent years when Federal grants came available for states to restore and rebuild many of the historic structures. Many of covered bridges are being destroyed by Mother Nature and at the hands of arsonist plus those that were on the verge of collapse.

Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Vermont have a combined total of over 550 authentic covered bridges with Pennsylvania leading with over 197. Many of the covered bridges still standing are over 150 years old.

The historic data given here is as accurate as I could find through out my researching the bridges. Finding correct information about covered bridges is a never-ending process. There will always be conflicting documentation regarding year built, builder, length of bridge, truss type and even the waterway it crosses.

I do hope everyone will appreciate the historical value that these bridges represent for the state of Pennsylvania and through out the United States.

Please feel free to contact us at anytime for directions to any of these fine structures. We have traveled many back roads armed with Pennsylvania Road Atlas, County maps and directions documented in books written about the bridges, and we still got lost on occasions. They say that getting lost out in the back country is half the fun looking for these bridges, I feel when you are dealing with light to get a good photograph you need to be there at a specific time. My advice to anyone who is interested in photographing these beautiful historic bridges and finding them in less time should invest in a GPS unit, I can say after using one in three different counties that they are the greatest thing that came down the pike. Many sites on the net have coordinates for each of the bridges and nothing can be more simple.

Bridge Information

If anyone has any information about restorations or destructions of any of the covered bridges in Pennsylvania please email me.

I will accept photos from any person of any covered bridges that are not displayed here. I would also like to have any up dated photos of any of the bridges I have on my site. I will give credit to the individual if I use the photo. Please send photos in 8X10, jpeg and 150 resolutions.

Bridges Destroyed:

1. Bittenbender (Luzerne County) This bridge has also been washed out by the same flood that destroyed the West Paden Bridge in Columbia County. No information on restoration.

2. Gudgeonville (Erie County) Tragedy falls on another one of our historical structures.
(Click here to read articles and view photos)

NOTICE!!!
"Gudgeonville Arsonist caught"
(Click here to see video and read the information)

Gudgeonville Bridge to be rebuilt.

PennDOT is paying for a permanent bridge to be constructed, it won't be an exact replica, however, at this point it's fairly certain that it will be a wooden structure. Apparently they're looking into what some of the other counties have done and taken note. I guess our structure would be all steel bracing and supports, at least underneath. The structure on top of that would be wood and it would be a covered bridge. However, the wood that they would use would be a modern material that was both flame retardant and would allow spray paint be washed away with ease. Apparently there is an eco-friendly chemical that would react with the wood, so if someone spray painted graffiti on it, the township could spray this chemical on the site, leave it sit, and then use a pressure washer the next day and the paint would wash away.

Also, the new bridge will be wider, possibly 2 lanes. The original bridge was too narrow for more than one car to pass through and not big enough or sturdy enough for snowplows or emergency vehicles to get through. So the bridge will be rebuilt, however it'll take several years and will look nothing like the original. Our benefit isn't raising money for that project because the state is covering it and we're more interested in preserving the original 100+ year old bridge.
(Click here for Gudgeonville Benefit site)

Bridges Restored:

Note: The new bridge photos can be seen in their individual photo albums of their county.

1. Shoemaker (Columbia County) This bridge has been restored August 2008.
2. West Paden (Columbia County)
3. Pomeroy/Academia, (Juniata County) ( "Completed 2008," ( New Photos)
4.Kramer (Columbia County)
5. Books (Perry County)
6. Everhart (Dauphin County) This bridge had originally been built in 1881 and in 1940 was moved to Fort Hunter. The structure was then dismantled in 1980 and put in storage. June 2006 it had been reconstructed at Fort Hunter Park in Harrisburg, Pa.
7. Saville (Perry County)
8. Bistline (Perry County)
9. Adairs (Perry County)

All photographs have been taken by Len Sherlinski unless otherwise indicated.

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