Skip to main content

Josiah Hess Covered Bridge - Pennsylvania

Image
By

 



The 110 foot long Josiah Hess Covered Bridge is located on Huntington Creek in Fishing Creek Township. One of 23 historic covered bridges in Columbia County, the covered Burr arch-truss designed Josiah Hess Covered Bridge was constructed in 1875 by Joseph Redline and W.J. Manning at a cost of $1,349.50. Today, the bridge is only open to pedestrian access, providing a nice place to get photos, have a picnic or to go fly fishing.

The covered bridge provided access to the Hess sawmill and farm. The bridge's namesake, Josiah Hess, was part of the 4th generation of Hess family members who called Pennsylvania home. Johann Conrad Hess, just 16 years old, climbed aboard the ship Glasgow in 1730 and set out on his journey to the New World and Philadelphia. It wasn't long after that when the Hess family migrated elsewhere in Pennsylvania, establishing farms and businesses in Columbia County. Now owned by the Columbia County Covered Bridge Association, it has been restored, and rededicated August 25, 2005. The covered bridge survived a close call the following year. The flooding from the storm of June 28, 2006 destroyed the West Paden Bridge located just downstream on Huntington Creek. At the Josiah Hess Covered Bridge site, swift moving currents severely damaged the south bridge abutment. However, quick action at the Josiah Hess Bridge by local contractor John Lapp may have prevented a similar fate that the West Paden Covered Bridge faced. 


Inside the covered bridge.

A nice view of the bridge portal.

A remnant of when the bridge served vehicles.

Bridge abutment.

The bridge looks spiffy in spring, too.

The Josiah Hess Covered Bridge makes for a nice fly fishing spot.



How to Get There:




Sources and Links:
Columbia County - Josiah Hess Bridge
Scenic USA - Pennsylvania - Hess Bridge
Bridgehunter.com - Josiah Hess Covered Bridge 38-19-10
Interesting Pennsylvania and Beyond - Josiah Hess Covered Bridge Columbia County


Update Log:
November 22, 2021 - Crossposted to Quintessential Pennsylvania (https://quintessentialpa.blogspot.com/2021/11/josiah-hess-covered-bridge.html)
Labels:
Location: Winding Rd, Orangeville, PA 17859, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I-40 rockslide uncovers old debates on highway

By
The Asheville Citizen-Times continues to do a great job covering all the angles of the Interstate 40 Haywood County rock slide. An article in Sunday's edition provides a strong historical perspective on how the Pigeon River routing of Interstate 40 came about. And perhaps most strikingly, in an article that ran just prior to the highway's opening in the fall of 1968, how engineers from both Tennessee and North Carolina warned "...that slides would probably be a major problem along the route for many years." On February 12, 1969, not long after the Interstate opened, the first rock slide that would close I-40 occurred. Like many other Interstates within North Carolina, Interstate 40 through the mountains has a history prior to formation of the Interstate Highway System and was also a heated political battle between local communities. The discussion for a road that would eventually become Interstate 40 dates back to the 1940's as the idea for interregional high
2 comments
Read more

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

By
When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced from Bates Station owner/operator George Ba
Post a Comment
Read more

Interstate 210 the Foothill Freeway

By
The combined Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor of the Foothill Freeway is approximately 85.31-miles.  The Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor begins at Interstate 5 at the northern outskirts of Los Angeles and travels east to Interstate 10 in Redlands of San Bernardino County.  Interstate 210 is presently signed on the 44.9-mile segment of the Foothill Freeway between Interstate 5 and California State Route 57.  California State Route 210 makes up the remaining 40.41 miles of the Foothill Freeway east to Interstate 10.  Interstate 210 is still classified by the Federal Highway Administration as existing on what is now signed as California State Route 57 from San Dimas south to Interstate 10.  The focus of this blog will mostly be on the history of Interstate 210 segment of the Foothill Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Interstate 210 and California State Route 210 Interstate 210 (I-210) was approved as a chargeable Interstate during September of
Post a Comment
Read more