About
Book's Covered Bridge, also known as the Kaufman Covered Bridge, crosses Shermans Creek southwest of Blain in Jackson Township, Perry County. It is a single-span Burr arch truss bridge first built in 1884. Wikipedia gives its length as 70 feet, while coveredbridges.net lists 81 feet and Dale J. Travis 88 feet. Coveredbridges.net reports that it is open to vehicle traffic.
History
The bridge was built in 1884. No builder is recorded in these sources. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 25, 1980, as part of the Covered Bridges of Adams, Cumberland, and Perry Counties group. In 2003 the whole structure collapsed into Shermans Creek. A community effort rebuilt it, and Dale J. Travis dates the rebuilding to October 2004.
Design
A Burr arch truss pairs a long timber arch with a multiple kingpost truss on each side of the bridge. Coveredbridges.net records a width of 17 feet.
Visiting
The bridge carries Three Springs Road (State Route 3003), about 0.3 miles south of Pennsylvania Route 274, southwest of Blain. It is open to cars.
Sources: Book's Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Books Covered Bridge (coveredbridges.net), Book or Kaufman Bridge (Dale J. Travis)
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