Indiana County
Covered Bridges
Thomas Ford Covered Bridge
July 7, 2009 I toured Indiana County photographing their covered bridges. I must say I thought I was going in a circle and coming back to the bridge I just left. The first three bridges, Kintersburg, Trusal and Harmon are quite identical structures. The common feature in these bridges is the shape of each bridge when viewed from their side. All are trapezoidal in shape having parallel lines along the top and the bottom and slope noticeably onward to the top. I thought that the same person built all three bridges until I investigated further. Of the four covered bridges in Indiana County only Thomas Ford is open to vehicular traffic. All the bridges are nicely landscaped and maintained by their owner, Indiana County.
Kintersburg Covered Bridge
GPS N40 42.81 W79 04.86
(#38-32-05)
This structure was built in 1877, it was named after a local shop keeper,
Isaac Kinter. The bridge was built by J.S. Fleming at a cost of $893.00
utilizing the Howe Truss. The bridge is one of the few Howe Truss
structures left in Pennsylvania. The bridge is open to foot traffic
only. The length is 62 ft. and the width is 15 ft. and crosses Crooked
Creek. The structure was bypassed by Township route 612, Musser
Road, just south of state route 1005, in Kintersburg, Rayne Township.
Harmon's Covered
Bridge
GPS N40 44.04 W79 10.53
(#38-32-04)
Harmon's bridge was built in 1910 by John R. Carnahan the county
engineer, for a sum of $525.00. This structure was named after Civil War
veteran J.S. Harmon. The bridge has a length 41 ft. and a width of 15
ft., it crosses the South Branch of Plum Creek. Harmon's Bridge was
bypassed by Township Route 488, Donahue Road, just south of State Route
4006, approximately 1.6 miles east of Willet in Washington Township.
The structure is in fair condition and only open to foot traffic.
Trusal Covered Bridge
GPS N40 43.83 W79 11.05
(#38-32-03)
Trusal Bridge (also known Dice's Bridge) is the oldest of Indiana
Counties covered bridges. It was named after Robert Trusal a
nearby property owner. The structure was built in 1870 by persons
unknown, it has a length of 35 ft. and a width of 15 ft. Like Harmon's
Bridge, it crosses the South Branch of Plum's Creek, in fact it is only
one half mile downstream. Trusal was bypassed by Township Route
406, Trusal Road, just south of State Route 4006 approximately 1.1 miles
east of Willet in Washington Township. The bridge is also only
open to foot traffic. The bridge is in fair condition
Thomas Ford Covered Bridge
GPS N40 39.85 W79 14.22
(#38-02-06)
The Thomas Ford Bridge was built in 1879 utilizing the Town Lattice
Truss for the sum of $545.00 by Amos Thomas. The bridge was
reconstructed at a cost of slightly more than $ 1 million (inflation!!!)
in 1998. The bridge goes by the names of Thomas, Thomas Ford, and
prior to the construction of the bridge there was a fording stream
crossing in this location and so comes the later name. When there was a
railroad built in the area in the early 1900's it also was known as
Thomas Station Bridge. The structure crosses Crooked Creek, its length
is 75 ft and the width is 15 ft., it is located on Township Route 414,
Thomas Ford Covered Bridge Road, approximately 1 mile east of Thomas, in
Armstrong Township. This is the only covered bridge in the county
opened to vehicle traffic.