Speakman No. 2 Covered Bridge

About

Speakman No. 2 Covered Bridge, also called the Mary Ann Pyle Bridge, crosses Buck Run near Modena, south of Coatesville, in East Fallowfield Township, Chester County. It is a covered bridge built in 1881, about 75 feet long according to Wikipedia and coveredbridges.net (Dale Travis lists 83 feet). It is closed to vehicles and is reached on foot.

History

Menander and Ferdinand Wood built the bridge in 1881. It was built for local landowner James B. Pyle and named for his daughter, Mary Ann. It cost $1,938: $1,183 for the woodwork and $755 for the masonry. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 1980. Coveredbridges.net reports that it was rebuilt in 2014.

Design

The National Register listing describes a Burr truss, a multiple kingpost truss paired with a long timber arch on each side; coveredbridges.net lists the truss as queenpost. The bridge is about 15 feet wide. It is a twin of Speakman No. 1, which stands about a quarter mile away on another branch of Buck Run.

Visiting

The bridge is on private land held by the Brandywine Conservancy and is open only to foot traffic, with the Conservancy's permission. Dale Travis describes the approach from McCorkles Rock Road, north of Route 82, followed by a walk of about 0.8 mile.

Sources: Speakman No. 2, Mary Ann Pyle Bridge (Wikipedia), Speakman No. 2 (coveredbridges.net), Speakman #2 (Dale J. Travis)