About
Glessner Covered Bridge crosses the Stonycreek River on Covered Bridge Road in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, northwest of Shanksville. It is a multiple kingpost truss built in 1881. The National Register gives a length of 90 ft, while dalejtravis.com lists 96 ft.
History
Tobias Glessner built the bridge in 1881, and it carries his name. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 1980, as part of the Covered Bridges of Somerset County group nomination. Dalejtravis.com records that the bridge was rebuilt in 1998.
Design
A multiple kingpost truss uses a series of vertical posts with diagonal braces between them, repeated panel by panel across the span. Glessner has half-height plank siding, which leaves the upper part of the truss open, and a tin-covered gable roof. Uncoveringpa.com notes that some sources list it as a Burr arch, but the National Register nomination describes a multiple kingpost truss.
Visiting
From the junction of Bridge Street and SR 1007 (North Street) in Shanksville, go north about 0.8 mile, then turn west onto Covered Bridge Road and continue about 0.5 mile to the bridge. There are pull-offs on both sides of the bridge.
Sources: Glessner Bridge (Wikipedia), Glessner 38-56-08 (dalejtravis.com), Covered Bridges of Somerset County (Uncovering PA)
Photo: Ccrabb1948, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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