Enslow Covered Bridge

Jackson Township, Perry County. Built 1904, 110 ft over Shermans Creek. Also called Turkey Tail Bridge, it has a ford beside it for larger vehicles.

Adams Grove Road, Jackson Township, Perry County, PA
County Perry
City/Town Jackson Township
1904
GPS Coordinates 40.329316, -77.491422
Bridge Status Open to traffic
Crosses Shermans Creek
Bridge Type/Truss Design Burr Arch
Length (feet) 110ft
Enslow Covered Bridge in Jackson Township, Pennsylvania

About

Enslow Covered Bridge, also known as the Turkey Tail Covered Bridge, crosses Shermans Creek southeast of Blain in Jackson Township, Perry County. It is a Burr arch truss bridge built in 1904. The Perry County PAGenWeb survey and Uncovering PA give its length as 110 feet, while coveredbridges.net lists 117 feet. It is open to vehicle traffic.

History

The bridge was built in 1904, and its builder is unknown. Coveredbridges.net reports that Hurricane Fran damaged it in 1996, that repairs followed in 1997, and that it was freshly painted in 2014 with help from the Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society of Pennsylvania.

Design

A Burr arch truss pairs a long timber arch with a multiple kingpost truss on each side of the bridge. The PAGenWeb survey records a width of 16 feet 11 inches. Coveredbridges.net also describes the truss as a Burr arch type.

Visiting

The bridge carries Adams Grove Road southeast of Blain. Cars can cross it. Uncovering PA notes a spot beside the bridge where larger vehicles can ford the creek, and pull-offs on both sides. The same guide places Enslow a short distance west of Bistline Covered Bridge, which also crosses Shermans Creek.

Sources: Perry County Covered Bridges (PAGenWeb), Enslow Covered Bridge (coveredbridges.net), Perry County Covered Bridges (Uncovering PA)

Photo: Smallbones, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.