Pleasantville Covered Bridge

About

Pleasantville Covered Bridge crosses Little Manatawny Creek in Oley Township, Berks County, about half a mile south of PA 73 in the Oley Valley. Wikipedia and SAH Archipedia name the stream as Manatawny Creek, while the Historic American Engineering Record names Little Manatawny. It is a 126-foot, single-span Burr arch truss bridge begun in 1852. It is open to traffic.

History

David Renno and Jonathan Bitner built the bridge between 1852 and 1856, in two stages because of wood shortages after the Great Flood of 1850. SAH Archipedia notes a reconstruction in 2004. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1981, as part of the Berks County Covered Bridges multiple property submission, and it was documented as HAER PA-491.

The bridge's height barrier has been damaged more than once. In March 2011 the bridge was closed after a height barrier was knocked off its moorings, and in January 2020 it reopened after about $20,000 of repairs to its headache bar and other items, with reflective tape added for visibility.

Design

SAH Archipedia describes two pairs of Burr arch trusses, one above the other, with the exterior siding stopping at the rafters to leave a long opening that admits light. A Burr truss combines a long timber arch with a multiple kingpost truss. SAH Archipedia gives the span as 128 feet, and the World Guide to Covered Bridges gives 139 feet.

Visiting

The bridge is on Township Road 916 in Oley Township and is open to vehicles that clear its height barrier.

Sources: Pleasantville Bridge (Wikipedia), Pleasantville Oley Turnpike Covered Bridge (SAH Archipedia), Pleasantville Covered Bridge reopened (Vermont Covered Bridge Society)

Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, c, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.