About
Geiger's Covered Bridge carries Old Packhouse Road over Jordan Creek on the eastern side of the Trexler Nature Preserve (the Trexler-Lehigh County Game Preserve), southeast of Schnecksville in North Whitehall Township, Lehigh County. It is a Burr truss about 112 ft long, built in 1860. It is open to vehicles and is owned by Lehigh County.
History
The name may come from the Geiger family, who settled in the area in the 1700s. A pipe once carried water from Jordan Creek across the bridge to orchards and farms, and remnants of its pumping equipment remain. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1980, as part of the Covered Bridges of the Delaware River Watershed nomination. In early 2022 the county closed it for repairs, supported by a $400,000 grant, to bring it up to the county's functionally obsolete standard; afterward it was to carry vehicles up to three tons.
Design
The Burr truss pairs timber arches with a multiple kingpost truss. Geiger's has vertical plank siding and an unusual stepped portal built of square planks. The National Register and county tourism material give the length as 112 ft.
Visiting
The bridge is on Old Packhouse Road, reached from Jordan Road. Vehicles can cross it. Schlicher's Covered Bridge is also within the Trexler Nature Preserve.
Sources: Geiger Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Covered Bridges of Lehigh Valley (Discover Lehigh Valley), County bridges get needed attention (Lehigh Valley Press)
Photo: Eric, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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