Thomas Ford Covered Bridge

About

The Thomas Covered Bridge, also called the Thomas Ford or Thomas Station Bridge, crosses Crooked Creek on T-414 southwest of Creekside in Armstrong Township, Indiana County. It is a Town lattice truss bridge built in 1879 and 75 ft long, according to the Indiana County Parks brochure and Uncovering PA (Wikipedia gives 52 ft). It is the longest covered bridge in the county and the only one open to vehicle traffic.

History

The county approved the bridge in June 1877 near the property of John and Amos Thomas, with the county paying two thirds of the cost and John Thomas one third. The county brochure credits Amos Thomas as builder and gives the original cost as $545. The site was a ford before the bridge was built, and a railroad built in the early 1900s led to the Thomas Station name. The bridge was rebuilt in 1998 for slightly more than $1 million. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 3, 1979, as part of the Covered Bridges of Indiana County group.

Design

The Town lattice truss uses a web of crossing planks fastened with wooden pins. Thomas is the westernmost and southernmost of the county's four covered bridges.

Visiting

The bridge is about 2.5 miles off Route 422 west of Indiana, on Thomas Covered Bridge Road, and carries vehicles. There is room for several cars to pull off near the bridge. A mural of the bridge is painted on a railroad tunnel a quarter mile north on Thomas Covered Bridge Road.

Sources: Covered Bridges brochure (Indiana County Parks and Trails), Covered Bridges of Indiana County (Uncovering PA), Thomas Covered Bridge (Wikipedia)