Bridge in East Fallowfield Township (Mortonville, Pennsylvania)

Mortonville Bridge
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Mortonville Bridge being widened in 2009.
Coordinates:	39°56′47″N 75°46′47″W / 39.94639°N 75.77972°W / 39.94639; -75.77972
Area:	2.1 acres (0.85 ha)
Built:	1826
Architectural style:	Other, Stone Arch
Governing body:	State
MPS:	Strasburg Road TR;East Fallowfield Township MRA
NRHP Reference#:	85002392[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	September 18, 1985
Removed from NRHP:	July 16, 2010

Bridge in East Fallowfield Township
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Mill Race Bridge, with ruins of mill in background.
Location:	Strasburg Rd. over Mill Race, Mortonville, Pennsylvania
Coordinates:	39°56′46″N 75°46′43″W / 39.94611°N 75.77861°W / 39.94611; -75.77861Coordinates: 39°56′46″N 75°46′43″W / 39.94611°N 75.77861°W / 39.94611; -75.77861
Area:	less than one acre
Governing body:	State
MPS:	Highway Bridges Owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation TR
NRHP Reference#:	88000878[1]
Added to NRHP:	June 22, 1988

The Mortonville Bridge and Mill Race Bridge are stone arch bridges carrying Strasburg Road across the West Branch Brandywine Creek and an abandoned millrace at Mortonville, Pennsylvania. The Mortonville Bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 1985, while the Mill Race Bridge was added as the Bridge in East Fallowfield Township on June 22, 1988. The Mortonville Bridge was removed from the Register on July 16, 2010, following reconstruction; the Mill Race Bridge remains registered.

The first bridges on the site were probably built about 1772 when Strasburg Road was surveyed and constructed. A wooden bridge over the Brandywine was built in 1789. Of the current bridges, the millrace bridge was built about 1800 as a single stone arch, using stone from a local quarry upstream. It spanned the head race for Hayes Mill. A four-arch stone bridge over the Brandywine replaced the 1789 wooden structure in 1826, also using local stone.^[2]

From the 1980s to 2002, PennDOT put forth a series of plans for the replacement of both bridges by a single modern structure.^[2] However, local opposition was considerable, and PennDOT ultimately rebuilt and widened the bridge by 6 feet in 2009 during a 10-month closure. It was closed again in 2010 to lengthen retaining walls on the approach.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Dorchester, Jane E. (2008-10-04). "The Bridges of Mortonville". Chester County Day (62): 16. 
3. ^ Pickering, Anne (2010-07-07). "Mortonville Bridge to be closed again". Kennett Paper. http://www.southernchestercountyweeklies.com/articles/2010/07/07/kennett_paper/news/doc4c349459a20a8110389583.txt. 

External links

• Description of controversy over Mortonville Bridge rehabilitation