About
Factory Covered Bridge, also called Horsham Bridge, crosses White Deer Creek about a mile west of White Deer in White Deer Township, Union County, just off I-80 a few miles west of US 15. It combines kingpost and queenpost trusses. The National Register gives a length of 60 ft and dalejtravis.com lists 68 ft. The bridge is open to vehicle traffic.
History
The bridge was built in 1880. It was repaired in 1954 and again in 1976. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 8, 1980, as part of the Union County Covered Bridges group nomination, together with the Hassenplug, Hayes and Millmont Red bridges.
Design
A kingpost truss uses a single central post braced by diagonals, and a queenpost truss uses two posts joined by a horizontal beam. The National Register describes Factory Bridge as using king and queen trusses together. White Deer Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River.
Visiting
Sources differ on the road number. Wikipedia places the bridge on Township Road 629. Dalejtravis.com directs visitors west on White Deer Pike 1.6 miles from US 15 in White Deer, then south on Grey Hill Road (T416) about 0.15 mile to the bridge. There is a pull-off on the north side of the bridge, and the bridge is open to cars.
Sources: Factory Bridge (Wikipedia), Covered Bridges of Union County (Uncovering PA), Factory or Horsham 38-60-04 (dalejtravis.com)
Photo: Ruhrfisch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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