The Bellbank Covered Bridge was a

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

that spanned the

Octoraro Creek Octoraro Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, joining it above the Susquehanna's mouth at Chesapeake Bay. The Octoraro rises as an East and West Branch in Pennsylvania. The East Branch and Octoraro Creek form the southern half of th ...

on the border between Colerain Township, Lancaster County and Upper Oxford Township,

Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire or the County Palatine of Chester, a ceremonial county in the North Wes ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The 112 ft (34 m) bridge was located on Street Road near Pennsylvania Route 472. It was burnt and destroyed by an

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

ist on March 19, 1979. The covered bridge was also referred to as Bridge #11 by Chester County before it was replaced with the current steel beam bridge.

History

The Bellbank Covered Bridge was built in 1850 over the

by Robert Russell (who also rebuilt the

Pine Grove Covered Bridge The Pine Grove Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the East Branch of Octoraro Creek on the border between Lancaster County and Chester County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is the longest covered bridge in Lancaster County. The bri ...

in 1846). It was named after Revolutionary War

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

James Patterson Bell, who had his home, gristmill, and sawmill located in the plot of land where the bridge was built. In June 1860 the bridge caught on fire after being struck by lightning. Russell received a contract to rebuild the bridge at a cost of $1,739. Sometime in the 1960s the bridge was scheduled to be destroyed, but was instead rehabilitated. After it was destroyed by fire on March 19, 1979, the bridge, which was previously owned by Chester County, was finally replaced by an open steel-beam bridge after a failed petition to

PennDOT The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Yassmin Gramian. Presently, Pe ...

by the community to rebuild it as a covered bridge. The fire was ruled as arson when a blackened gas can was found in the center of the burnt-out bridge. As of 2006, there is a movement to replace the current bridge with a replica of the original covered bridge.

References

* *{{cite web , author = Robinson, Ryan , title = Rebirth of a covered bridge? , work = LancasterOnline.com : News , publisher = Lancaster Newspapers , date = 2006-09-30 , url = https://local.lancasteronline.com/4/26288 , accessdate = 2006-10-01 , url-status = dead , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070527235752/http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/26288 , archivedate = 2007-05-27 Covered bridges in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Covered bridges in Chester County, Pennsylvania Bridges completed in 1850 Road bridges in Pennsylvania Former road bridges in the United States Covered bridges in the United States destroyed by arson Arson in Pennsylvania Wooden bridges in Pennsylvania Pratt truss bridges in the United States