Kochenderfer Covered Bridge

About

Kochenderfer Covered Bridge crosses Big Buffalo Creek southeast of Saville in Saville Township, Perry County. It is a modified kingpost and queenpost truss bridge built in 1919. Wikipedia and coveredbridges.net give its length as 72 feet; Uncovering PA gives 71 feet. The bridge sits beside the road and is closed to vehicles.

History

The Adair Brothers built the bridge in 1919, at a cost of $2,380 according to coveredbridges.net. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 25, 1980, as part of the Covered Bridges of Adams, Cumberland, and Perry Counties group. Coveredbridges.net reports that the bridge was bypassed in 1986. Sources disagree on ownership: Uncovering PA describes it as privately owned, while coveredbridges.net mentions both private and county ownership.

Design

The truss combines kingpost and queenpost framing, which differs from the Burr arch trusses used on most Perry County covered bridges. Coveredbridges.net records a width of 18 feet and an interior height of 12 feet 6 inches.

Visiting

The bridge is on Township Road 332, just south of Pennsylvania Route 17. It no longer carries vehicles and can be viewed from the road. Uncovering PA notes room to pull off at the northwestern end.

Sources: Kochenderfer Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Kochenderfer Covered Bridge (coveredbridges.net), Perry County Covered Bridges (Uncovering PA)

Photo: Smallbones, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.