Meet me at the bridge

In this time period of you know what, (my euphemism for pandemic) when one day is much like the one before and when travel too far away from home is restricted, I’m a bit stagnant when it comes to ideas for blog posts.

So, I resort to a process I’ve often relied on in the past – photographs. Photographs speak to me, they inspire me, they conjure up ideas to ponder upon because I am a visual kind of person. Although I adequately use words to express myself whether thinking, writing, or speaking, I also often think in pictures.

When my blogging fodder is running low, I scan back through the myriad of photographs I’ve taken over the years in hopes an idea will percolate, permeate, and present something new to write about.

My photo cache didn’t fail me this time either. A few Mama’s Empty Nest readers shared with me that they enjoyed the Tuesday Tour series I wrote this past year on lighthouses Papa and I visited on various sightseeing trips/vacations in the past. Searching through pictures and researching each lighthouse certainly gave me something enjoyable to occupy my time during this you know what.

So, I’m planning to venture again on another Tuesday Tour and I do hope you join me on this journey. Each Tuesday for the next few weeks, I will showcase other gems, some historical landmarks worthy of viewing. Covered bridges.

Although they are not quite as alluring to me as lighthouses are, covered bridges still intrigue me and cause me to pull out my camera to capture them in their usual scenic surroundings. And they are situated by water, which always seems to draw me near.

At one time here in the United States, almost 14,000 timber-trussed structures covered by a roof, deck, and siding and often completely enclosed, spanned creeks, streams, and rivers. Most of them were one-lane bridges originally designed for wagon, carriage, and foot traffic, but eventually automobile traffic could also be accommodated as well.  

A multitude of covered bridges were built between 1820 and 1900. But time, weather, and even technology caused them to fall into decay and disuse. Currently, less than 900 such structures still exist, but grants for restoring and rebuilding some of those have been available.

About 550 authentic, wooden covered bridges, some over 150 years old, exist in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Vermont. Papa and I are fortunate enough to live in Pennsylvania where the most covered bridges still stand – around 200 located in 37 counties – and the state next door to us has the second most. We have not visited all those sites, that’s for sure.

Before we set off on our tour, maybe you’ll find a few facts establishing background information about these quaint historical landmarks from another time period interesting. You may have wondered, as I did, why these bridges were covered in the first place.

According to research, I discovered the answer is simple: wooden bridges exposed to the elements are exceptionally vulnerable for deterioration. In other words, they rotted easily so covers protected them from weather and resulted in the bridges lasting longer, since, according to bridge engineers, a covered truss made of timber possessed a three times greater life expectancy than an uncovered one.

Uncovered wooden bridges usually only lasted about 20 years and then needed repaired or replaced where covered ones could and have lasted as long as a century. Another fact was that a roof over a bridge would strengthen the entire structure.

Some other explanations for covered bridges have also been offered. Some believe that because the covered spans resembled barns, it was easier to drive farm animals through the structures since they wouldn’t be frightened and possibly stampede. Other theories are that coverings were simply to keep the oiled planks from becoming slippery in rain or to just keep trusses from view because they were unsightly.

Yet other explanations were that covered bridges provided a shelter from storms for travelers and, the most romantic reason of all – that a young man could court his young lady there in private and secretly kiss her, which provided a nickname for covered bridges as “kissing bridges.” I’ve even heard stories of couples getting engaged in modern times inside a covered bridge.

Philadelphia became the first known site of a covered bridge, constructed in 1805, with a length of 550 feet, and crossing the Schuykill River. A nearby land owner suggested that bridge be roofed, sided, and painted. From that suggestion, covered bridges become a popular and common sight on American roads spanning the country.

Eventually with the onset of iron production after the Civil War, wooden bridges were replaced with iron and steel beamed bridges because, of course, metal was more durable than wood. During this time, covered bridges were considered old-fashioned, yet we Pennsylvanians must have still appreciated their charm because at least 1500 covered bridges were newly erected in the state from 1830-1880. And many of those still stand today in 2021.

I do hope you meet me at the covered bridge next Tuesday. (I promise, by the way, there will be no kissing!) That’s when I’ll begin another Tuesday Tour spotlighting my pictures of covered bridges here in Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Ohio. Someday soon, we hope to resume longer road trips to visit more of these picturesque structures.

“A bridge is a meeting place. a possibility, a metaphor.” ~Jeanette Winterson

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