Hillsgrove Covered Bridge

Geobox|Bridge
name = Hillsgrove Covered Bridge
native_name =
category = National Register of Historic Places

---

image_size = 300
image_caption = The Hillsgrove Covered Bridge over Loyalsock Creek
official_name = Hillsgrove Covered Bridge
other_name = Rinkers Covered Bridge
etymology_type = Named for
etymology = Hillsgrove Township
nickname =


flag_size =
symbol =
symbol_size =
country = United States
country_

state = Pennsylvania
state_

region_type = County
region = Sullivan
municipality_type = Township
municipality = Hillsgrove
parent_type = Road
road = TR 357
road_note = (single lane)
city =
landmark =
building =
river = Loyalsock Creek
river_type = Crosses
location =
elevation_imperial = 880
lat_d = 41
lat_m = 27
lat_s = 39
lat_NS = N
long_d = 76
long_m = 40
long_s = 15
long_EW = W
coordinates_note =cite web
url = http://terraserver-usa.com/map.aspx?t=2&s=11&lon=-76.66976631&lat=41.460774695&w=600&h=400&opt=0&f=Tahoma,Verdana,Arial&fs=8&fc=ffffff99
title = USGS Hillsgrove (PA) Topo Map
accessdate = 2008-06-07
author = United States Geological Survey
publisher = TerraServer-USA and the National Map]
length_imperial = 186
length_orientation =
length_note =
width_imperial = 18.0
width_round = 1
width_orientation =
width_note =cite web
url = http://www.arch.state.pa.us/
title = National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
publisher = ARCH: Pennsylvania's Historic Architecture & Archeology
format = Searchable database
accessdate = 2008-06-04 "Note:" This includes cite web
url = http://www.arch.state.pa.us/pdfs/H000916_01B.pdf
title = National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Hillsgrove Covered Bridge
accessdate = 2008-06-04
author = Susan M. Zacher, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
format = PDF "Also note": This incorrectly identifies the bridge as being in Elkland Township. ]
width_type =
number =
number_type =
height_imperial = 8.0
height_round = 1
height_type = Clearance
height_note =
depth_imperial =
volume_imperial =
area_imperial =
style_type = Design
style = Burr arch truss bridge
material = Wood
author_type = Builder
author = Sadler Rodgers
established_type = Built
established = c. 1850
established_note =
established1_type = Restored
established1 = 1963, 2001
management_type = Owned and Maintained by
management = Sullivan County
code_type = NBI Number
code_label = National Bridge Inventory identification number
code = 567207035700040
code_note =cite web|url= http://nationalbridges.com/nbi_record.php?StateCode=42&struct=567207035700040 | title = Place Name: Hillsgrove (Township of), Pennsylvania; NBI Structure Number: 567207035700040; Facility Carried: Woodcovered Bridge; Feature Intersected: Loyalsock Creek |author = Federal Highway Administration National Bridge Inventory |date=2006 |publisher =Nationalbridges.com (Alexander Svirsky) |accessdate = 2008-06-06 "Note": this is a formatted scrape of the 2006 official website, which can be found here for Pennsylvania: cite web| url = http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbi/2006/PA06.txt |title = PA06.txt |date = 2006 | publisher = Federal Highway Administration |accessdate = 2008-06-07]
code1_type = WGCB Number
code1_label = World Guide to Covered Bridges Number
code1 = 38-57-02
code1_note = cite book |last= Evans |first= Benjamin D. |coauthors= Evans, June R. |title= Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges: A Complete Guide |edition= 1st edition |date= 1993 |publisher= University of Pittsburgh Press |location= Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |isbn= 0822955040 |pages = p. 211 ]
public =
visitation =
visitation_date =
access =
access_type =
whs_name =
whs_year =
whs_number =
whs_region =
whs_criteria =
iucn_category =
free_type = Load
free = 3 tons (2.7 t)
free1_type = Added to NRHP
free1 = July 2, 1973
free2_type = NRHP Ref#
free2 = 73001666
free3_type = MPS
free3 = Covered Bridges of Bradford, Sullivan and Lycoming Counties TR


map_size = 300
map_caption = Location of the Hillsgrove Covered Bridge in Pennsylvania
map_locator = Pennsylvania
map1 = Map of USA PA.svg
map1_size = 300
map1_caption = Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
commons = Hillsgrove Covered Bridge
statistics =
website =
footnotes =

The Hillsgrove Covered Bridge is a Burr arch truss covered bridge over Loyalsock Creek in Hillsgrove Township, Sullivan County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was built "circa" 1850 and is convert|186|ft|1 long. In 1973, it became the first covered bridge in the county to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The bridge is named for the township and nearby unincorporated village of Hillsgrove, and is also known as Rinkers Covered Bridge for an adjoining farm.

Pennsylvania had the first covered bridge in the United States, and has had the most such bridges since the 19th century. They were a transition between stone and metal bridges, with the roof and sides protecting the wooden structure from the weather. The Hillsgrove bridge has load-bearing Burr arches sandwiching multiple vertical king posts on each side, for strength and rigidity. It was built by Sadler Rodgers, who also constructed the nearby Forksville Covered Bridge in the same year, with a similar design.

The Hillsgrove bridge is the longest of three covered bridges remaining in Sullivan County, and served as a landing site for lumber rafts on the creek between 1870 and 1890. Nineteenth-century regulations restricting speed, number of animals, and fire are still posted on the bridge. Restoration work was carried out in 1963, 1968 and 2001, and the bridge is still in use, with average daily traffic of 54 vehicles in 2006. Despite these restorations, as of 2006 the National Bridge Inventory found it to be "Functionally Obsolete", with problematic foundations and railings, and a 16.5 percent structural sufficiency rating.

Overview

The covered bridge is in Hillsgrove Township on Covered Bridge Road (Township Road 357), which is convert|0.1|mi north of Pennsylvania Route 87 via Splash Dam Road (TR 359). The bridge crosses Loyalsock Creek northeast and upstream of the unincorporated village of Hillsgrove, and is just south of Elkland Township. [cite map |scale = 1:65,000| publisher= Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division | url= ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/sullivan_GHSN.PDF | title= 2007 General Highway Map Sullivan County Pennsylvania | accessdate= 2008-06-06] Its official name on the NRHP is "Hillsgrove Covered Bridge".cite web
url = http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/PA/Sullivan/state.html
title = National Register of Historic Places — Pennsylvania (PA), Sullivan County
publisher = www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com
accessdate = 2008-06-16
authorlink = National Register of Historic Places] It is also known as Rinkers Covered Bridge for the Rinker farm, which is located at the east end of the bridge. [cite web | url = http://www.sullcon.com/upload/Newsletter407.pdf | title = Stream Stabilization Projects Completed in County: Rinker Stream Bank Project | publisher = Sullivan County Conservation District | date = Fall 2007 | accessdate = 2008-07-16 |format= PDF |pages= p. 4 ]

The village of Hillsgrove is where Daniel Ogden became the first settler in what is now Sullivan County, "circa" 1786. John Hill, who founded and named the village of Hill's Grove (later just Hillsgrove), came to the area in 1789 and bought Ogden's land about 1794. Sullivan County was formed from part of Lycoming County on March 14, 1847, and the bridge was built in 1850. The division of Lycoming County ran through Plunketts Creek Township, so there were initially townships of this name in each of the adjoining counties. To avoid confusion, the name of the Sullivan County township was changed to Hillsgrove Township in 1856; the new township name was taken from the village of Hillsgrove, which was (and is) its largest settlement.cite book| url= http://www.rootsweb.com/~pasulliv/sullivancountyfolk/scf2/streby/Ingham.htm |title= History of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania: Compendium of Biography |author = Thomas J. Ingham |date = 1899 | publisher = Lewis Publishing Co. | location= Chicago, Illinois |accessdate = 2008-06-06 ] cite web |url = http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/pdfs/Sullivan.pdf |title = Sullivan County 7th class | format = PDF | accessdate = 2008-06-06 |publisher = Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission ] Hillsgrove Covered Bridge is named for its township and the nearby village, and gave its name to a nearby one-room school known as the Bridge View School.cite book | title = Souvenir of Hillsgrove: Valley of Dreams and Memories | publisher = Sullivan Review Print |location = Dushore, Pennsylvania | date = 1934 | url = http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pasulliv/SullivanCountyHistoricalSociety/HillsgroveSouvenir.htm | chapter = Bridges, p. 39 | chapterurl = http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pasulliv/SullivanCountyHistoricalSociety/HillsgroveSouvenirimages/Souvenir_of_Hillsgrove__Pg_39.pdf |accessdate = 2008-08-28 "Note": This source also claims the surviving Hillsgrove Covered Bridge was built by Sadler Rogers in 1881.]

The name Hillsgrove Covered Bridge can also refer to a now vanished covered bridge, also over Loyalsock Creek, but in the village of Hillsgrove. This stood from 1876 until 1934, when it was and replaced by a steel and concrete structure. It was the third covered bridge on the site: the first fell into the creek, and the second was torn down to make way for the third bridge.

History

Background

The first covered bridge in the United States was built in 1800 over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to Susan M. Zacher, author of "The Covered Bridges of Pennsylvania: A Guide", the first covered bridges of the Burr arch truss design were also built in the state. Pennsylvania is estimated to have once had at least 1,500 covered bridges and is believed to have had the most in the country between 1830 and 1875.cite web | url = http://www.nr.nps.gov/multiples/64000708.pdf | title = National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Covered Bridges of Bradford, Sullivan and Lycoming Counties | accessdate = 2008-04-14 | author = Susan M. Zacher, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission | format = PDF ] In 2001, Pennsylvania had more surviving historic covered bridges than any other state; 221 remained in 40 of its 67 counties.cite book |title = Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges: A Complete Guide |first = Benjamin D. |last = Evans |coauthor = Evans, June R. | publisher = University of Pittsburgh Press |location = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | isbn = 0-8229-5764-7 |date = 2001 |edition =2nd edition | pages = pp. 2, 7, 12]

Covered bridges were a transition between stone and metal bridges, the latter made of cast-iron or steel. In 19th-century Pennsylvania, lumber was an abundant resource for bridge construction, but did not last long when exposed to the elements. The roof and enclosed sides of covered bridges protected the structural elements, allowing some of these bridges to survive for well over a century. A Burr arch truss consists of a load-bearing arch sandwiching multiple king posts, resulting in stronger and more rigid structure than one made of either element alone. Although there were 30 covered bridges in Sullivan County in 1890, only five were left by 1954, and as of 2008 only three remain: Forksville, Hillsgrove, and Sonestown.cite book |title = Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges: A Complete Guide |first = Benjamin D. |last = Evans |coauthor = Evans, June R. | publisher = University of Pittsburgh Press |location = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | isbn = 0-8229-5764-7 |date = 2001 |edition =2nd edition | pages = pp. 257–259]

Construction and description

All three Sullivan County covered bridges were built in or "circa" 1850 with Burr arch trusses. The Hillsgrove bridge was built for Sullivan County by Sadler Rogers (or Rodgers), a native of Forksville who was only 18 years old at the time. He built the Forksville bridge the same year.cite book | title = Sullivan County Industries: Now and Then | date = 1954 | publisher = The Endicott Printing Company |location = Endicott, New York |url = http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pasulliv/SullivanCountyHistoricalSociety/SullivanIndustries.htm |accessdate = 2008-09-08] The Forksville and Hillsgrove bridges both cross Loyalsock Creek, with the latter about convert|5|mi|0 further downstream. Although most sources do not list the builder of the Sonestown bridge, a 1997 newspaper article on the remaining Sullivan County covered bridges reported that Rodgers had designed it also.cite news |first= Mollie |last= Eliot |title= Sullivan County's Covered Bridges Survive But Their Numbers Are Down From 30 to Three Today |publisher= "Williamsport Sun-Gazette" |date= December 28, 1997 ]

On July 2, 1973, the Hillsgrove bridge was the first covered bridge in Sullivan County to be added to the NRHP, and on July 24, 1980 it was again included on the NRHP in a Multiple Property Submission of seven Covered Bridges of Bradford, Sullivan and Lycoming Counties. The Hillsgrove bridge is on the 2006 National Bridge Inventory (NBI), which lists the covered bridge as convert|186|ft|m long, with a roadway convert|12|ft|2|in|m wide, and a maximum load of convert|5.0|ST|MT|1|lk=on. However, the maximum load posted on the bridge itself is only convert|3.0|ST|MT|1. According to the NRHP, the bridge's "road surface width" is convert|18|ft|1, which is only sufficient for a single lane of traffic.

As of 2008, each portal has a sign with the posted clearance height of convert|8|ft|1, and the west portal also has a "No Trucks Allowed" sign hanging below this. A sign posted on the east portal above the clearance preserves the following 19th-century limits on its use: "Notice: All persons are forbidden to ride drive or lead any animal over this bridge faster than a walk or to drive more than 15 head of cattle horses or mules thereon at one time or to carry fire thereon except in a safe vessel under a penalty of not less than $.30 for each offence." [Note: Follow these links for photographs of the .]

The covered bridge rests on abutments of stone and mortar, which have been reinforced with concrete. There are no parapets. The bridge deck is made of crosswise "narrow width laid flooring". Wheel guards on the deck separate the roadway from the pedestrian walkways on either side and protect the sides, which are covered with "vertical board and batten siding" almost to the eaves. As of 2008, the sides are unpainted, but the portals are painted red. The bridge has long, narrow windows with wooden shutters: the south side has three windows, and the north side has two. An opening between the eaves and the siding runs the length of the bridge on both sides. The gable roof is sheet metal which has been installed over the original wooden shake shingles. The bridge is supported by a Burr arch truss, and is similar in design and construction to the one in Forksville. The western end of the Hillsgrove bridge lies against a steep hillside, and those approaching the bridge from the west must make a sharp right turn to enter it.

Attitudes towards covered bridges in Sullivan County changed considerably in the last half of the 20th century. Two of the five bridges that remained in 1954 were razed by 1970, when the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation considered tearing down the Forksville bridge (but renovated it because of its historic nature and appeal to tourists). The Hillsgrove Covered Bridge was added to the NRHP in 1973 and the two other bridges were added in 1980. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission now forbids the destruction of any covered bridge on the NRHP in the state and has to approve any renovation work.cite news |first= Nancy E. |last= Baumgartner |title= Cogan House Covered Bridge Dedication Follows Facelift |publisher= "Williamsport Sun-Gazette" |date= November 1, 1998 ]

Use and restoration

In the 19th century the Hillsgrove Covered Bridge survived major floods on March 1, 1865, and June 1, 1889, that destroyed other bridges in the West Branch Susquehanna River valley.cite book
last = Meginness
first = John Franklin
title = History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania: including its aboriginal history; the colonial and revolutionary periods; early settlement and subsequent growth; organization and civil administration; the legal and medical professions; internal improvement; past and present history of Williamsport; manufacturing and lumber interests; religious, educational, and social development; geology and agriculture; military record; sketches of boroughs, townships, and villages; portraits and biographies of pioneers and representative citizens, etc. etc."
date = 1892
url = http://www.usgennet.org/usa/pa/county/lycoming/history/lyco-history-01.html
accessdate = 2006-03-16
edition = 1st Edition
publisher = Brown, Runk & Co.
location = Chicago, IL
id = ISBN 0-7884-0428-8
chapter = Chapter XIX. Internal Improvements.
chapterurl = http://www.usgennet.org/usa/pa/county/lycoming/history/Chapter-19.html "Note:" ISBN refers to the Heritage Books July 1996 reprint. URL is to a scan of the 1892 version with some OCR typos.] Between about 1870 and 1890, logging in the Loyalsock Creek watershed produced lumber rafts that floated beneath the bridge. The bridge was the site of "Uncle Ben's Landing" for lumber rafts, which did not travel at night. These rafts, each containing 5,000–30,000 board feet (11.8–70.8 m³) of lumber, were carried down the Loyalsock to its mouth at Montoursville. The raft era ended when the eastern hemlock were all clearcut. [cite news |title= Lumber Still King at Forksville but Methods Have Gone Long Way Since Old Rafting Days |publisher= "Williamsport Sun" |date= August 3, 1950 ]

According to the NBI data, the bridge was "reconstructed" in 1963, and T. Corbin Lewis, a retired electrical contractor from Hillsgrove Township, restored the bridge in 1968.cite news |title= Covered Bridge at Forksville Being Renovated: Old Covered Bridge Just 'Oozing' History |publisher= "Grit" (City News Edition) |date= September 13, 1970 ] The concrete reinforcement on the southwest abutment of the Hillsgrove bridge is dated 1968, but the other work done in this restoration is not documented. Lewis also restored the Forksville Covered Bridge in 1970, with what its NRHP nomination form describes as "all kinds of odd repairs". [cite web
url = http://www.arch.state.pa.us/
title = National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
publisher = ARCH: Pennsylvania's Historic Architecture & Archeology
format = Searchable database
accessdate = 2008-06-04 "Note:" This includes cite web
url = http://www.arch.state.pa.us/pdfs/H000915_01B.pdf
title = National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Forksville Covered Bridge
accessdate = 2008-06-04
author = Susan M. Zacher, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
format = PDF] Lewis' restoration work at Forksville involved cutting windows into the sides of the bridge for the first time, with four windows on the south side and three on the north. While the Hillsgrove bridge does have more windows on the south side (three) than the north (two), it is not known if they are original or were added later.

Covered Bridge Road north of Loyalsock Creek is accessed only by the Hillsgrove Covered Bridge at the eastern end, and a bridge over Elk Creek at the western end. Sullivan County replaced the bridge over Elk Creek between March 21 and July 21, 1989. Without the Elk Creek bridge, access for five families, a business, and a Little League Baseball camp with 110 children was limited to the covered bridge. County officials noted that despite the covered bridge's posted weight limit of convert|2.0|ST|MT|1, it could still support convert|5.0|ST|MT|1, sufficient for small fire trucks and ambulances. In an emergency, larger emergency vehicles could ford the creek if needed. In any case, the limited access did not cause any problems for the four-month period while the Elk Creek bridge was replaced. [cite news |title= Officials Fret Over Bridge Removal: Lack of Access Concerns Firemen |publisher= "Williamsport Sun-Gazette" |date= April 5, 1989 ]

The Evans' book describes repairs to the siding on the northeast of the bridge, done between 1991 and 2000. In 2001, the US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration awarded $360,000 for 80 percent of the restoration costs of the Hillsgrove bridge under the Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program. It was one of two bridges in Pennsylvania and 43 nationwide selected for the program that year. [cite web | url = http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/hcb0901.htm | title = Information: Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program - FY 2001 Project Selection |publisher = U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration |author = James D. Cooper |date = September 26, 2001 |accessdate = 2008-06-06]

Despite the restorations and repairs, the 2006 Federal Highway Administration National Bridge Inventory found the bridge to be "Functionally Obsolete". In addition, the sufficiency rating of the bridge structure was 16.5 percent,Ref_label|A|a|none the foundations were "unstable for calculated scour conditions ", and the railing did not meet "currently acceptable standards". Its overall condition was deemed "basically intolerable requiring high priority of corrective action", and the estimated cost to improve the bridge was $108,000. The bridge is still used, and its average daily traffic was 54 vehicles in 2006. According to Zacher, the "Sullivan County bridges, because of their settings, are some of the most attractive in the state".

Bridge dimensions

The following table is a comparison of published measurements of length, width and load recorded in different sources using different methods, as well as the name or names cited. The NBI measures bridge length between the "backwalls of abutments" or pavement grooves and the roadway width as "the most restrictive minimum distance between curbs or rails". The NRHP form was prepared by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), which surveyed county engineers, historical and covered bridge societies, and others for all the covered bridges in the commonwealth. The Evans visited every covered bridge in Pennsylvania in 2001 and measured each bridge's length (portal to portal) and width (at the portal) for their book. The data in Zacher's book was based on a 1991 survey of all covered bridges in Pennsylvania by the PHMC and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, aided by local government and private agencies. The article uses primarily the NBI and NRHP data, as they are national programs.

ee also

*List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania

Notes

:a. Note_label|A|a|noneThe National Highway Administration established the sufficiency rating, which can vary from a low of 0 to a high of 100, as a way to prioritize federal funding for bridges. The rating is calculated based on "structural adequacy, whether the bridge is functionally obsolete, and level of service provided to the public". [cite web| url = http://www.transportation.org/?siteid=93&pageid=2496 | title = Bridge Inspection Definitions |publisher = American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials |accessdate = 2008-07-12] Federal funds are available for replacement of bridges with a rating of 50 or below, while those with a rating of 80 or below qualify for rehabilitation. [cite web | url = http://www.transportation.org/sites/bridges/docs/Sufficiency%20Ratings%20Explained.pdf | title = Bridge Sufficiency Ratings | publisher = Kansas Department of Transportation |accessdate = 2008-07-12] In 2007, Pennsylvania had 22,291 bridges over convert|20|ft long, of which 42.9 percent were either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. [cite web | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20093413/ | title = State by State: 'Deficient' or 'Obsolete' Bridges | publisher = MSNBC.com | date = August 2, 2007 |accessdate = 2008-07-12 ]

References

External links

*cite web| author = Pierce, Phillip C.; Brungraber, Robert L.; Lichtenstein, Abba; Sabol, Scott; Morrell, J.J.; Lebow, S.T. | url = http://www.tfhrc.gov/structur/pubs/04098/04098.pdf |format = PDF | title = Covered Bridge Manual: Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-098 | date = April 2005 | publisher = US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center | accessdate = 2008-06-26