Captain Elias McMellen (November 16, 1839 – March 2, 1916) was a bridge-maker and Captain in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

. McMellen's wife’s name was Annie E. Wenditz (November 13, 1841 – April 1, 1899). They were married on September 21, 1865, and had the following children: Ella, Sara (also known as Sadie), Joseph, Walter and James.1880 US census Their home for many years was located at 28 East Vine Street, Lancaster, Pennsylvania; he provided a home for his mother next-door. During the Civil War, McMellen enlisted for service in the Union Army, becoming a private in Co. K, 79th P. V. I., which regiment was assigned to Gen. Negley's brigade. At Perryville, he contracted camp fever through exposure, and was sent home on a furlough. In 1863 he was mustered out of the 79th Regiment on a surgeon's certificate, and the same year, when his health had somewhat recovered, was again received into the service, as first lieutenant of Co. C, 21st Pa. Cavalry. Later, he was appointed captain of the Color Company of the regiment, Co. 1, 21st Pa. Cavalry. Capt. McMellen participated in the last charge made by the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

, on the morning of the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee. When he was twenty years old he built the bridge over Chickies Creek, at Snavely's Mill, and went on to build some of the most celebrated

covered bridges 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 ...

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, ...

. In this work of building and contracting he was very successful, and many iron, wooden and stone bridges in Lancaster and adjoining counties were erected by him, his reputation as a bridge builder being second to that of no man in eastern Pennsylvania. He died March 2, 1916, and is interred in the Greenwood Cemetery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

McMellen's bridges

Bucher's Mill Covered Bridge The Bucher's Mill Covered Bridge or Butcher's Mill Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans Cocalico Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. After the Landis Mill Covered Bridge, it is the second shortest covered bridge in t ...

, built in 1891 and rebuilt several times after flood damage. (At only sixty four feet long, it is one of the shortest covered bridges in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.) * Forry's Mill Covered Bridge, built in 1869 *

Kauffman's Distillery Covered Bridge The Kauffman's Distillery Covered Bridge or Sporting Hill Bridge is a covered bridge that spans Chiques Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Big Chiques #1 B ...

, built in 1857 and last rebuilt in 1874 *

Keller's Mill Covered Bridge The Keller's Mill Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans Cocalico Creek in Ephrata Township, Lancaster County in the US state of Pennsylvania. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Cocalico No. 5 Bridge. It ...

, built in 1873, rebuilt in 1891, dismantled in 2006, and reopened on Middle Creek Road in December 2010 *

Landis Mill Covered Bridge The Landis Mill Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the Little Conestoga Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Little Conestoga #1 Bridge. The bridg ...

, built in 1873 (At only fifty three feet long, it is the shortest covered bridge in Lancaster County.) * Lime Valley Covered Bridge, built in 1871 *

Miller's Farm Covered Bridge The Miller's Farm Covered Bridge was a covered bridge constructed by Elias McMellen in 1871. The bridge was located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Lengeschder Kaundi), sometimes nicknamed the Garden S ...

, built in 1871 ** Willow Hill Covered Bridge, a reconstruction of the above bridge (built in 1962) *

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 ...

, built in 1884 * Pinetown Bushong's Mill Covered Bridge, built in 1867, rebuilt by the Amish in 1973, and reopened in January 2014 *

Red Run Covered Bridge The Red Run Covered Bridge or Oberhaltzer's Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that once spanned the Muddy Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was built in 1866 by Elias McMellen and is currently situated on private prope ...

, built in 1866 * Risser's Mill Covered Bridge, built in 1872 and destroyed by arson on July 8, 2002 * Pool Forge Covered Bridge, built in 1859

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMellen, Elias 1839 births 1916 deaths American bridge engineers People from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Union Army officers Military personnel from Pennsylvania

McMellen's bridges

See also

Notes

References