Jacksons Mill Covered Bridge

About

Jacksons Mill Covered Bridge crosses Brush Creek in East Providence Township, Bedford County, southwest of Breezewood. It is a 91-foot Burr truss bridge with a short approach span at the north end. The National Register dates it to 1889. It is open to traffic.

History

The National Register, Wikipedia and the World Guide to Covered Bridges give 1889. Coveredbridges.net gives a fuller account: brothers-in-law Adam Karns Bottenfield and Jacob Pee built the bridge in 1875, and the flood of May 31, 1889 carried it about 300 yards downstream, where it was repaired and reset at its present site with the approach span added. The bridge is named for M.J. Jackson, owner of the nearby grist and sawmill. It closed to traffic around 1986. A 1991 pilot project rehabilitated it in spring 1992 with new steel girders, new concrete piers faced with stone from the old piers, and steel arches at the approaches to guard against oversized vehicles. It reopened on November 17, 1992, the first Bedford County covered bridge to be reconstructed. It was listed on the National Register on April 10, 1980, and documented as HAER PA-352.

Design

The main span is a Burr truss, a long timber arch on each side combined with a multiple kingpost truss. Coveredbridges.net describes a kingpost approach span at the north end, a shallow gable roof and siding that stops about 3 feet below the roof line, leaving the top of the arches exposed. Dalejtravis.com gives a length of 96 feet.

Visiting

From US 30 in Breezewood, take SR 2029 south 0.5 mile, East Mattie Road (SR 2009) east 1.5 miles, then Jackson Mill Road south 0.8 mile and Covered Bridge Road 150 feet to the bridge, according to dalejtravis.com. The bridge is open to vehicles.

Sources: Jacksons Mill Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Jackson Mill 38-05-25 (dalejtravis.com), Jacksons Mill Covered Bridge (coveredbridges.net)