Trostletown Covered Bridge

About

Trostletown Covered Bridge, also called Kantner Bridge, crosses Stony Creek (the Stonycreek River) in the Stoystown Lions Club Park in Quemahoning Township, Somerset County, southeast of Stoystown and just off US 30. It is a kingpost truss bridge about 104 ft long. Dalejtravis.com lists 113 ft overall. The bridge is closed to motor traffic.

History

The National Register record dates the bridge to 1845, while coveredbridges.net gives 1873. The builder is not recorded. The Stoystown Lions Club took over the bridge in 1965 to restore and preserve it, and it now stands in the club's park. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 11, 1980, as part of the Covered Bridges of Somerset County group nomination.

Design

Coveredbridges.net describes the structure as a triple-span kingpost truss modified with added tension rods. In a kingpost truss a vertical post at the center of each span is braced by two diagonals running to the ends. The bridge has half-height plank siding and an asbestos-shingled gable roof, and its deck is about 12 to 12.5 ft wide.

Visiting

From the junction of US 30 and PA 281 on the south side of Stoystown, take US 30 east about 0.25 mile, turn south onto North Club Road for 0.1 mile, then turn east into Lions Club Park. The bridge is meant for foot traffic only, though coveredbridges.net reported in 2015 that equipment stored inside made crossing difficult.

Sources: Trostletown Bridge (Wikipedia), Trostletown Covered Bridge (coveredbridges.net), Trostletown or Kantner 38-56-10 (dalejtravis.com)

Photo: Allen C., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.