The Mercer's Mill Covered Bridge or Mercer's Ford 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 the
East branch of the Octoraro Creek on the border between
Lancaster County and
Chester County Chester County may refer to:
* Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
** Chester County Council, boy scout council in Pennsylvania.
* Chester County, South Carolina, United States
* Chester County, Tennessee, United States
* Cheshire
...
in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
A Lancaster County-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the East Octoraro #2 Bridge.
The bridge has a single span, wooden, double
Burr arch truss
Burr may refer to:
Places Australia
*Cape Burr, a headland in South Australia
*Mount Burr, South Australia, a town and mountain in South Australia
United States
*Burr, Minnesota, an unincorporated community
*Burr, Missouri, an unincorporated comm ...
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 the traditional white color. The bridge has a single window on only one side of the bridge.
The bridge's
WGCB Numbers are 38-15-19/38-36-38. Added in 1980, it is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
as structure number 80003509.
It is located at (39.93150, -75.98150).
The bridge is located in
Sadsbury Township, 0.5 miles (0.8 km) south of
Christiana on Bailey Crossroads Road off Creek Road, to the south of Pennsylvania Route 372.
History
The bridge was built in 1880 by B. J. Carter.
Along with the
Pine Grove Covered Bridge (built in 1884), it was one of a number of covered bridges built along the border between Lancaster and Chester counties.
Dimensions
Source:
*Length: 80
feet
The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of ...
(26.5 m)
span ''Note:''[McCain's length, clear width, and total width measurements (86 feet (26.2 m), 14 feet 5 inches (4.4 m), and 15 feet (4.6 m) respectively) differ from the Lancaster County government's 87 foot (26.5 m) span length and 15 feet 4 inch (4.7 m) clear deck width. The government's numbers are used, however it is not clear what the correct measurements are.]
*Width: 15 feet 4 inches (4.7 m)
''Note:''
*Overhead clearance: 11 feet 6 inches (3.5 m)
*Underclearance: 13 feet 6 inches (4.1 m)
Gallery
Image:Mercer's Mill Covered Bridge Side 3000px.jpg
Image:Mercer's Mill Covered Bridge Lancaster Approach 3008px.jpg
Image:Mercer's Mill Covered Bridge Window 3008px.jpg
Image:Mercer's Mill Covered Bridge Inside HDR 3008px.jpg
Image:Mercer's Mill Covered Bridge Inside 2000px.jpg
Image:Mercer's Mill Covered Bridge Underside 2964px.jpg
Image:Mercer's_Mill_Covered_Bridge-from_the_air_2.jpg
Image:Mercer's_Mill_Covered_Bridge-from_the_air.jpg
See also
*
Burr arch truss
Burr may refer to:
Places Australia
*Cape Burr, a headland in South Australia
*Mount Burr, South Australia, a town and mountain in South Australia
United States
*Burr, Minnesota, an unincorporated community
*Burr, Missouri, an unincorporated comm ...
*
List of Lancaster County covered bridges
References
{{NRHP bridges
Covered bridges in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Covered bridges in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Bridges completed in 1880
Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Chester County, Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Wooden bridges in Pennsylvania
Burr Truss bridges in the United States