The Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the

Conestoga River The Conestoga River (), also referred to as Conestoga Creek (), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through t ...

in Lancaster County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

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. It is the oldest bridge in the county still in use. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Big Conestoga #2 Bridge. The bridge is also called Martin's Mill Bridge, Eberly's Cider Mill Covered Bridge, and Fiand's/Fiantz's Covered Bridge. The bridge has a single span, wooden, double

Burr arch truss Burr may refer to: Places Australia *Cape Burr, a headland in South Australia *Mount Burr, South Australia, a town and mountain in South Australia United States *Burr, Minnesota, an unincorporated community *Burr, Missouri, an unincorporated comm ...

es design with the addition of steel hanger rods. The deck is made from oak planks. Added later, secondary steel

I-beam An I-beam is any of various structural members with an - (serif capital letter 'I') or H-shaped cross section (geometry), cross-section. Technical terms for similar items include H-beam, I-profile, universal column (UC), w-beam (for "wide flang ...

s support the bridge from underneath. The bridge is painted red on the outside, the traditional color of Lancaster County covered bridges. The inside of the bridge is not painted. Both approaches to the bridge are painted in the traditional white color. As of July 2006, the bridge has some damage to its sides including some missing or broken panels. The bridge, which has a 10 foot 6 inch height restriction, was damaged again on November 20, 2023, this time by a 13 feet 4 inches tall semi-trailer which got stuck in the bridge and allegedly caused further damage by attempting to back out after being stuck. The bridge's WGCB Number is 38-36-04. In 1980 it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as structure number 80003516. It is located at (40.1405, -76.1520) near the junction of U.S. Route 222 and

U.S. Route 322 U.S. Route 322 (US 322) is a , east–west United States Highway, traversing Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The road is a spur route, spur of U.S. Route 22, US 22 and one of the original highways from 1926. A portion of it at one time was c ...

southeast of Ephrata in West Earl Township. The bridge can be reached by going approximately south from U.S. Route 322 on Cabin Drive which becomes Conestoga Creek Road. A left onto Cider Mill Road leads straight to the bridge, which is visible from the intersection.

History

The bridge was built in 1846 by George Fink and Sam Reamsnyder at a cost of $1,115. They used a single span, wooden, double

construction. At some point later, steel

s were installed under the floor to add support to the oldest bridge in Lancaster County. The bridge has historically been referred to by a number of names that reflected the various mill owners. In 1962, it was proposed to replace the bridge with a concrete span, but the plan was discontinued after much public outcry. File:Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge First Approach 3000px.jpg, Looking north (2006) File:Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge Damaged Side 2000px.jpg, West side (2006) File:Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge First Side Inside 3264px.jpg, Inside of damaged west side (2006) File:Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge Second Approach 3000px.jpg, Looking south (2006) File:Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge Side 3008px.jpg, East side (2006) File:Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge Second Side Inside 3264px.jpg, Inside of undamaged east side (2006)

References

{{NRHP bridges Bridges completed in 1846 Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Covered bridges in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Bridges over the Conestoga River National Register of Historic Places in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Wooden bridges in Pennsylvania Burr Truss bridges in the United States

History

See also

References