The Kurtz's Mill Covered Bridge is 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 spans Mill Creek in the Lancaster County Park in Lancaster County,

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, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The bridge is also known as the County Park Covered Bridge, Baer's Mill Covered Bridge, Isaac Baer's Mill Bridge, Keystone Mill Covered Bridge, Binder Tongue Carrier Covered Bridge, and Mill 2A Covered Bridge. The bridge is accessible to road traffic from within the park. The bridge has a single span, wooden, double

burr arch truss The Burr Arch Truss—or, simply, Burr Truss or Burr Arch—is a combination of an arch and a ''multiple kingpost'' truss design. It was invented in 1804 by Theodore Burr, patented on April 3, 1817, and used in bridges, usually covered bridge ...

es 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 red with white trim. The bridge's WGCB Number is 38-36-03. Unlike most historic covered bridges in the county, it is not listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. It is located at (40.0151, -76.2822).

History

The bridge was built in 1876 by W. W. Upp over the

Conestoga River The Conestoga River, also referred to as Conestoga Creek, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through the cente ...

. In June 1972, it was damaged by the floodwaters caused by

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, ...

. It was repaired by David Esh in 1975 and moved to its present location in the Lancaster County Park over Mill Creek, a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the Conestoga River.

Dimensions

*Length:

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...

and total length *Width: clear deck and total width *Overhead clearance: *Underclearance:

Gallery

Image:Kurtz's Mill Covered Bridge Sign 2500px.jpg, A metal nameplate describing history of the bridge Image:Kurtz's Mill Covered Bridge Side View 3008px.jpg, A view of the side of the bridge showing the surrounding forest Image:Kurtz's Mill Covered Bridge Approach 2997px.jpg, One of the approaches to the bridge Image:Kurtz's Mill Covered Bridge Inside 1865px.jpg, The inside of the bridge showing the

Burr arch truss The Burr Arch Truss—or, simply, Burr Truss or Burr Arch—is a combination of an arch and a ''multiple kingpost'' truss design. It was invented in 1804 by Theodore Burr, patented on April 3, 1817, and used in bridges, usually covered bridge ...

Image:Kurtz's Mill Covered Bridge Underside 1836px.jpg, The underside of the bridge

References

* *{{cite web , title = Kurtz Mill Covered Bridge , work = Lancaster County Pennsylvania Dutch Country Official Visitors Center , publisher = Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau , year = 2006 , url = http://www.padutchcountry.com/member_pages/kurtz_s_mill_covered_bridge.asp , accessdate = 2006-07-07 Covered bridges in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Bridges completed in 1876 Road bridges in Pennsylvania Relocated buildings and structures in Pennsylvania Wooden bridges in Pennsylvania Burr Truss bridges in the United States

History

Dimensions

Gallery

See also

References