About
The East Oriental Covered Bridge, also called the Sheaffer or Meiser's Covered Bridge, crosses Mahantango Creek on the Juniata and Snyder county line, between Susquehanna Township near Oriental and Perry Township near Meiserville. It is a Burr truss bridge built in 1907 and 90 ft long (the visitors bureau gives 91 ft). It is privately owned and no longer used by vehicles.
History
The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 10, 1979, as part of the Covered Bridges of Juniata and Snyder Counties group. Uncovering PA, updated in 2023, describes it as deteriorating, with missing sideboards, and reports that its two owners disagree about restoring it.
Design
The Burr truss, developed by Theodore Burr, pairs a long timber arch with a multiple kingpost truss. East Oriental is one of two covered bridges linking Juniata and Snyder counties over Mahantango Creek, along with the North Oriental Covered Bridge upstream.
Visiting
The bridge is on private land near Snapper Road. The Juniata River Valley Visitors Bureau says visitors must ask the landowner for permission before walking to it. Uncovering PA says the best view is from the road bridge about 200 yards downstream, with limited roadside space on the Juniata side where the guardrails end.
Sources: East Oriental Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Visiting the Covered Bridges of Juniata County (Uncovering PA), Covered Bridge Tour (Juniata River Valley Visitors Bureau)
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