The Forry's Mill Covered Bridge is the last

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

that spans

Chiques Creek Chiques Creek (known as ''Chickies Creek'' until 2002) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in Lebanon and Lancaster cou ...

in West Hempfield in Lancaster County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Big Chiques #7 Bridge. (''Chiques Creek'' was known as ''Chickies Creek'' until 2002). The bridge has a single span, wooden, double

Burr arch truss The Burr Arch Truss—or, simply, Burr Truss or Burr Arch—is a combination of an arch and a ''multiple kingpost'' truss design. It was invented in 1804 by Theodore Burr, patented on April 3, 1817, and used in bridges, usually covered brid ...

es design with the addition of steel hanger rods. The deck is made from oak planks. It is painted red, the traditional color of Lancaster County covered bridges, on both the inside and outside. Both approaches to the bridge are painted in the traditional white color. The bridge's WGCB Number is 38-36-28. In 1980 it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

as structure number 80003512. It is located at (40.06767, -76.47800). Forry's Mill Covered Bridge is located in West Hempfield Township on Bridge Valley Road north of

route 23 east of

Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas * Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Ma ...

, less than a mile away from the former site of the

Siegrist's Mill Covered Bridge The Siegrist's Mill Covered Bridge is an , Burr Arch Truss covered bridge over Chiques Creek between Rapho and West Hempfield townships, Lancaster County in U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Owned and maintained by the county, its official design ...

History

Forry's Mill Covered Bridge was originally built in 1869 by

Elias McMellen Captain Elias McMellen (November 16, 1839 – March 2, 1916) was a bridge-maker and Captain in the Union Army. McMellen's wife’s name was Annie E. Wenditz (November 13, 1841 – April 1, 1899). They were married on September 21, 1865, and had ...

for a cost of $2969. The bridge required repairs in 1925 to its sides and floor.

Dimensions

*Length: 91

feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg mad ...

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan es ...

and total length *Width: clear deck and total width *Overhead clearance: *Underclearance:

Gallery

Image:Forry's Mill Covered Bridge Wide Angle Side View 3000px.jpg, Wide view of the side of the bridge Image:Forry's Mill Covered Bridge Side 2800px.jpg, A closeup of the side of the bridge Image:Forry's Mill Covered Bridge Approach 2800px.jpg, One of the approaches to the bridge Image:Forry's Mill Covered Bridge Inside 3000px.jpg, Inside of the bridge showing the

design Image:Forry's Mill Covered Bridge Underside 2980px.jpg, The underside of the bridge Image:Forry's Mill Covered Bridge from the air-1.jpg, A view of the bridge from the air Image:Forry's Mill Covered Bridge from the air-2.jpg, A side view of the bridge from the air

References

{{NRHP bridges Covered bridges in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Bridges completed in 1869 Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania 1869 establishments in Pennsylvania 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

Dimensions

Gallery

See also

References