Lancaster County Covered Bridges

Lancaster County has the most covered bridges in Pennsylvania with 29 covered bridges. All of the covered bridges in Lancaster County, except for the Hunsecker's Mill Covered Bridge, Kurtz 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.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.

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 197 bridges, with more located in Lancaster County than any other county in the state. 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. Most of the existing bridges are owned by the county government which is responsible for periodic upkeep and maintenance.

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. Somewhat ironically, this short bridge was built by Mcmellen who used the Burr arch truss design in every other bridge he built. The Pine Grove Covered Bridge and Herr's Mill Covered Bridge 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. Today most of the bridges retain this pattern, however, some of the portals are painted red with white trim (such as on the Zooks 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

Map Location of all Lancaster Bridges

Buck Hill Farm

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(GPS N40 07.915 W076 18.06)
(# 38-36-15)

The Buck Hill Covered Bridge, Eichelberger's Covered Bridge, or Abram Hess' Mill Bridge is a covered bridge located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on the Buck Hill Farm's pond on private property. In 1980 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as structure number 80003528.

The original build date and builder of the covered bridge is unknown. However, it was probably built around 1825 to provide access to Abram Hess's store. In 1844 the bridge was sold to George Eichelberger. That same year the bridge was heavily damaged in a flood and had to be repaired. It was rebuilt by Theodore D. Cochran at a cost of $799. The bridge was moved, in 1966, to the Buck Hill Farm, a private farm located in Warwick Township 1.2 kilometers (0.75 mi) south of Kissel Hill on Pennsylvania Route 501.

The bridge is 58 feet long and 15 feet wide, it is in fair condition it crosses a farm pond and only open to foot traffic. The structure is owned and maintained privately, permission must be obtained before entering the bridge. The landscaping surrounding the bridge is very beautiful, and when I was there in June of 2011 it was well groomed. This is one of the many natural wood bridges I have really enjoyed photographing.

Forry's Mill Covered Bridge

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(GPS 40 04.06 W76 20.69)
(# 38-36-28)

Forry's Mill Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans Chicques Creek in West Hempfield in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Big Chiques #7 Bridge. (Chiques Creek was known as Chickies Creek until 2002). This is one of forty seven bridges either built or repaired in Lancaster County by Elias McMellen and is named for the Forry family who lived in the old stone house located on the adjoining property.

The bridge has a single span, wooden, double Burr arch trusses design with the addition of steel hanger rods. The deck is made from oak planks. It is painted red, the traditional color of Lancaster County covered bridges, on both the inside and outside. Both approaches to the bridge are painted in the traditional white color. The bridge was built in 1869 by Elias McMellen, the length of the structure is 103 feet and the with is 15 feet. The bridge is open to vehicle traffic and is in very good condition. In 1980 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as structure number 80003512.

Forry's Mill Covered Bridge is located in West Hempfield Township on Bridge Valley Road 0.4 km (0.25 mi) north of Pennsylvania route 23 5.5 km (3.4 mi) east of Marietta less than a mile away from the Siegrist's Mill Covered Bridge.

Kaufman's Distillery Bridge

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(GPS N40 08.89 W76 24.59)
(#38-36-32)

Kauffman's Distillery Covered Bridge or Sporting Hill Bridge is a covered bridge that spans Chiques Creek in Lancaster County; Pennsylvania. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Big Chiques #1 Bridge. (Chiques Creek was known as Chickies Creek until 2002)

The bridge has a single span, wooden, double Burr arch trusses design with the addition of steel hanger rods. The deck is made from oak planks,it is painted red, the traditional color of Lancaster County covered bridges, on both the inside and outside. Both approaches to the bridge are painted in the traditional white color. The length of the structure is 96 feet and the width is 15 feet it is in very good condition and open to vehicle traffic. This is a bridge where parking spaces are not available and you have very little room in pulling off the road.

The bridge's in 1980 was added to the National Register of Historic Places as structure number 80003529. The bridge is located southwest of Manheim between Rapho and Penn Townships 0.15 miles (0.24 km) southeast of Pennsylvania Route 772 and 1.4 miles (2.25 km) west of Pennsylvania Route 72 on Sun Hill Road.

Kauffman's Distillery Covered Bridge was originally built in 1857 at a cost of $1,185 by James C. Carpenter. The bridge was named after the Kauffman's Distillery Mill which operated in the late 1800s. In 1874 the bridge was rebuilt by Elias McMellen at a cost of $1,620.

When first constructed, this bridge was associated with a local distillery owned by the Kauffman family near the village of Sporting Hill. It is reported that once a month the Kauffman family traveled in a large loop selling whiskey to the surrounding towns. Today the area surrounding the bridge is open farmland in a beautiful and appropriate setting.

Landis Mill Covered Bridge

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(GPS N40 04.08 W76 20.69)
(# 38-36-16)

Landis Mill Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the Little Conestoga Creek . A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Little Conestoga #1 Bridge. The bridge, built in 1873 by Elias McMellen, is today surrounded by a development, shopping center, and highways on the boundary of Lancaster At 53 feet (16.2 m), it is the shortest covered bridge in the county.

The bridge has a single span, wooden, double pyramidal-shaped Burr type trusses and multiple king post truss design with the addition of steel hanger rods. It is the only bridge in the county to use this design. The deck is made from oak planks. It is painted red, the traditional color of Lancaster County covered birdges, on both the inside and outside. Both approaches to the bridge are painted in red with white trim. The bridge is a length of 53 feet and a with of 15 feet, it is open to vehicle traffic and in very good condition.

In 1980 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as structure number 80003526. It can be found northwest of Lancaster on Shreiner Road one block West of the Park City Center shopping mall.

Landis Mill Covered Bridge was built in 1873 by Elias McMellen at a cost of $969. McMellen, who built many of Lancaster's covered bridges using the Burr arch truss, chose to build this short bridge using a simpler design with multiple kingpost trusses and, instead of Burr arches, pyramidal-shaped trusses to add additional support. The bridge has remained despite the development of the surrounding countryside.

Schenk's Mill Bridge

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(GPS N40 06.96 W76 25.53)
(#38-36-30)

Schenk's Mill Covered Bridge or Shenk's Mill Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the Big Chiques Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Big Chiques #4 Bridge. (Chiques Creek was known as Chickies Creek until 2002). The bridge was built in 1885 by Charles Malhorn and Levi Fink. It is located on Township Route 372, Rapho Township, where it becomes Township Route 552, East Hempfield Township, approximately 1.8 miles northwest of Landisville, between Rapho and East Hempfield townships. The length is 96 feet and the width is 15 feet, it is is good condition and open to all traffic.

This bridge is located in a beautiful well maintained rural setting, the Schenk's Mill Bridge is unusual in Lancaster County for several reasons: it has horizontal clapboard siding, has two long horizontal windows on either side of the eastern end of the structure, and the Burr arch is only about half as high as similar bridges in the county. It is built on stone and mortar abutments that extend on ether end into lengthy wingwalls. The original Schenk farmhouse and mill are still standing. Today they are used as the headquarters for local building contractor who has been responsible for some very attractive contemporary homes in the area.

The bridge was added in 1980 to the National Register of Historic Places as structure number 80003531.

Shearer's Covered Bridge

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(GPS N40 10.29 W76 23.39)
(#38-36-31)

Shearer's Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the Big Chiques Creek in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. (Chiques Creek was known as Chickies Creek until 2002).
The original Shearer's Bridge was built in 1847 over Chickies Creek at a cost of about $600. In 1856 it was rebuilt for $1,200. In 1971 it was moved four miles to Manheim Memorial Park across from the high school at a cost of $12,000. Today, estimated costs of rehabilitation are extremely higher. It still crosses Chickes Creek(Chiques Creek). Its style is similar to Shenk's Mill Bridge. The length of the structure is 89 feet and the width is 15 feet, it is in good condition and only open to foot traffic.

The bridge has a single span, wooden, double Burr arch trusses design. It is the only covered bridge in the county painted entirely in red, the traditional color of Lancaster County covered bridges, on both the inside and outside including both approaches. The other all red bridge, Pool Forge Covered Bridge, is only painted on the outside. It is one of only 3 covered bridges in the county with horizontal side boards.

The bridge was added in 1980, to the National Register of Historic Places as structure number 80003532.

It is located at

The bridge was built in 1847 by Jacob Clare. It was rebuilt in 1855 and stayed there until it was moved in 1971 to its present location in the Manheim Memorial Park.

Siegrist's Mill Covered Bridge

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(GPS N40 04.62 W76 28.26)
(#38-36-37)

(Alert Update: This bridge has been destroyed by the flash flooding of tropical storm Lee on September 8, 2011)

Siegrist's Mill Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the Big Chiques Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Big Chiques #6 Bridge. (Chiques Creek was known as Chickies Creek until 2002).

The bridge was built in 1855 by James C. Carpenter. It was named after the Siegrist family who lived nearby. The structure has a single span, wooden, double Burr arch trusses design with the addition of steel hanger rods. The deck is made from oak planks. It is painted red, the traditional color of Lancaster County covered bridges, on both the inside and outside. Both approaches to the bridge are painted in the traditional white color. The length of the structure is 91 feet and the width is 15 feet, it is in good condition and opened to all traffic. The bridge is located on Township Route 360, Rapho Township, where it meets Township Route 669, West Hempfield Township, approximately 2 miles north of Ironville, between Rapho and West Hempfield townships.

This is one of the few bridges that withstood the wrath of Hurricane Agnes in 1972. It suffered only minor damage. Like many of the other Lancaster County bridges, it is in a charming setting. The local residents tell a story about two occupants of the county poorhouse, Bum Frank and John Weiskopf, who lived under the bridge during the summer months while the hired themselves out to the Siegrist family to work the farm. Mrs. Siegrist even gave them soap about once every other week so they could bathe in the creek. In severe weather they slept in the barn; in the fall, they returned to the poorhouse.

The bridge was added in 1980 to the National Register of Historic Places as structure number 80003513. It is located in a remote region of western Lancaster County at The bridge is less than a mile away from the Forry's Mill Covered Bridge.

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