Beech Creek Covered Bridge Ruins (Clinton County)

This concrete pier is all that is left of the old covered bridge
Author's photo

    A concrete pier is all that remains of the old covered bridge over Beech Creek in the community that bears the same name. The bridge was constructed around 1832 and was of the Burr arch design, a staple for many bridges of the era.

    The practice of enclosing a bridge in the United States had originated around the beginning of the 19th Century, though it had been prevalent in Europe for centuries prior. Sheltering the span protected it from the weather, thus increasing the longevity of the structure.

    By 1895, the bridge was showing its age. To add support, a wooden pier was erected mid-span. Later in 1907, a concrete pier replaced the wooden one that had been washed away.

    The bridge continued to carry traffic over the creek into the 1920’s. However, time and continuous use was quickly catching up with the old covered bridge. A pronounced sag on both sides of the concrete pier had developed. This was no doubt the result of its advanced age combined with bearing the weight of automobiles, an additional stress the builders could never have anticipated it to support.

The covered bridge at an unknown date.
Image Retrieved From: Bricktown Trail Planning Document 

    In November 1924, the Democratic Watchman announced that the bridge was to be "extensively repaired." It was reported that "several hundred persons" crossed the bridge daily and that vehicle traffic would only increase with the completion of a new train station in nearby Eagleville. Whether the bridge was repaired is unknown, however during a flood in June of 1927, the old bridge gave way, bringing to an end 95 years of  service. It was never rebuilt.

    Within the last few years, it was proposed that a foot bridge could be built using the original concrete support (if structurally sound) to carry the Bricktown Trail, a proposed heritage trail from Curtin Village to Orviston. The concrete pier sits in the middle of the creek between Bald Eagle Street on the Liberty Township side and Maple Avenue in Beech Creek.

Side Note: Clinton County’s only surviving covered bridge is located in the village of Logan Mills in Sugar Valley.

-Information Retrieved From:

Albertin-vernon. (2007). The brick town trail. Retrieved from http://www.docs.dcnr.pa.gov/…/docu…/document/dcnr_004939.pdf

Democratic Watchman. (1924, November 21). Sprawls from the keystone. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved From: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1924-11-21/ed-1/seq-1/#city=&rows=20&proxtext=beech+creek+covered+bridge&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=0&words=Beech+bridge+covered+Creek&page=1

Lingle, H. Lingle, V. (1981). History of the Beech Creek area of Clinton County. Retrieved from https://archive.org/…/HistoryOfTheBeechCreekAreaOfClintonCo…