Johnson Covered Bridge

About

Johnson Covered Bridge No. 28 crosses Mugser Run, a tributary of the South Branch of Roaring Creek, in Cleveland Township, Columbia County. It stands in a rural landscape of trees and fields less than a mile east of Knoebels Amusement Resort. It is a queenpost truss bridge about 61 ft long: Wikipedia gives 60.8 ft, while the Columbia-Montour visitors bureau gives 66 ft. No dated source found states whether it is currently open to vehicles.

History

Daniel Stine built the bridge in 1882 for $799. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 1979, as one of the historic covered bridges of Columbia and Montour Counties.

Design

A queenpost truss uses two vertical posts tied together by a horizontal beam at the top, with diagonal braces, which lets it span farther than a single kingpost. The visitors bureau describes Johnson as a queenpost truss, while the National Register record, as reported by Wikipedia, calls it a Warren truss. The bridge has a metal roof.

Visiting

Wikipedia places the bridge on Township Route 320 south of Catawissa. The visitors bureau lists it on Cleveland Road east of Knoebels, and uncoveringpa says it sits just off Pine Swamp Road. Both note room to pull off near each end of the bridge.

Sources: Johnson Covered Bridge No. 28 (Wikipedia), Johnson Covered Bridge (DiscoverNEPA), Covered Bridges of Columbia County (Uncovering PA)

Photo: Ruhrfisch, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.