Covered Bridge Fall Festivals

Covered Bridge Festivals celebrate the rich history of the covered bridge in the United States. In present times many of these historic covered bridges are being restored and protected from destruction.They add charm to a small town or country side and offer a glance back in history to days gone-by.

"The history of covered bridges can be traced as far back as 780 B.C. in ancient Babylon. In America the first covered bridge was built in Connecticut in 1804 by Theodore Burr. Named the Waterford Bridge, it spanned the Hudson River in New York and lasted for 105 years. The next two were built years later in 1851 and 1852 in Oregon City, Oregon, but were washed away by floodwaters in 1853. Before there were covered bridges there were ferries to transport horses, passengers and buggies to the other side of the rivers. Many of these were run by merchants holding the monopoly on the local economy with the fees from the ferries. This prompted taxpayers to build bridges that would be free to all travelers after a toll to help offset costs.

Early bridges were built for utility. The later ones were also built with appearance in mind. Although Connecticut boasts the first covered bridge in America, Pennsylvania is usually foremost in the minds of covered bridge lovers. At least 1,500 were built from 1820 to1900 and Pennsylvania has the largest number of covered bridges in the nation: 219 in 40 of its 67 counties. The longest covered bridge in history was built in 1814 in Lancaster County, Pa., at a distance of 5,960 feet more than a mile. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in 1832 by ice and high water.

Most of America's covered bridges were built between 1825 and 1875. By the 1870s, most bridges were covered at the time of construction. The original reason for the cover was to protect the bridge's trusses and decks from snow and rain, preventing decay and rot. The cover served other purposes also-it kept horses from being spooked by the waters underneath, it was a reprieve from weather to the weary traveler, and it was used for political rallies, religious meetings, a night's sleep for tramps, town meetings, poker parties, sweethearts' rendezvous, drunken revels, dances, and even rainy-day luncheons took place on the covered bridge. An uncovered bridge would last approximately 20 years but a covered one could last 100 years.

Floods washing away the bridges caused the need for redesigning them. Builders began to use a combination of iron and wood trusses. The invention of the automobile encouraged builders to use steel. But with World War I came a shortage of steel and the wood bridges again became the norm. Now they were being built with windows, laminated floors, asphalt surfaces and interior whitewashing."

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