Knox Covered Bridge

About

Knox Covered Bridge carries Yellow Springs Road over Valley Creek in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, inside Valley Forge National Historical Park. The present bridge was built in 1865 and is a single-lane Burr truss covered bridge. The National Park Service gives its length as 65 feet and its width as 10 feet; PennDOT's 2024 figures are 55 feet by 12 feet. It is open to vehicles.

History

The first covered bridge at this crossing was built in 1851 by Ferdinand Wood for $843. A flood washed it away in 1865, and a replacement was built that year for $1,179. The bridge was once known as the Valley Forge Dam Bridge, after a dam that powered mills and factories along the creek. The Park Service says the name likely honors Senator Philander Chase Knox, who bought 256 acres next to the bridge in 1903, rather than General Henry Knox. After a fire in 1958 the state rebuilt the bridge and added steel girders. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. On August 22, 2024, a falling tree crashed through the bridge and closed it; PennDOT reopened it after repairs in October 2024.

Design

A Burr truss pairs a multiple kingpost truss with a long timber arch on each side. Since the 1958 rebuild, steel girders also support the deck, and PennDOT describes the structure as a covered steel stringer bridge. PennDOT owns and maintains it.

Visiting

The bridge is on Yellow Springs Road at its junction with Valley Creek Road (Route 252). It is one lane wide and open to traffic; PennDOT reported about 1,604 vehicles a day in 2024.

Sources: Knox Covered Bridge (National Park Service), Knox / Valley Forge (coveredbridges.net), Knox Covered Bridge reopens after fallen tree (Patch, 2024)