About
Bowser Covered Bridge, also called the Osterburg Covered Bridge, crosses Bobs Creek northwest of Osterburg in East St. Clair Township, Bedford County. It is a Burr arch truss bridge built in 1890. A modern bridge beside it now carries the road, and the covered bridge is closed to traffic.
History
The bridge was built in 1890 and was bypassed in 1973 by a steel and concrete bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 1980, under the name Osterburg Covered Bridge, as part of the Bedford County Covered Bridges thematic resource. coveredbridges.net says it is county owned and calls it the northernmost historic covered bridge in Bedford County.
Design
A Burr arch truss pairs a long timber arch with a multiple kingpost truss. coveredbridges.net notes a shallow gable roof, vertical boards on the lower third of the sides and stone and mortar abutments. Sources differ on the length: Uncovering PA gives 90 feet and coveredbridges.net gives 98 feet.
Visiting
The bridge sits along Route 869 near Osterburg, and Uncovering PA notes a good sized pull-off there. coveredbridges.net, with photos from June 2025, reports a cable across the entrance.
Sources: Bowser Covered Bridge, coveredbridges.net, Covered Bridges of Bedford County, Uncovering PA, NRHP listings in Bedford County, Wikipedia
Photo: CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (author details on the file page).
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