Pine Grove 1884
The 1884 Pine Grove Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the East Branch of Octoraro Creek on the border between Lancaster County and Chester County in Pennsylvania. At 204 ft., it is the longest covered bridge in Lancaster County.
Pine Grove Bridge has a two-span, wooden, double Burr arch-truss design with the addition of steel hanger rods. It is the only two-span covered bridge still in use. The other two-span bridge, Herr's Mill Covered Bridge, is located on private property. The bridge's deck is made from oak planks. It is painted red, the traditional color of Lancaster County Covered Bridges on the outside, but is not painted on the inside. Both approaches to the bridge are painted in the traditional white color.
Originally built in 1816 (builder, price unknown). Rebuilt by Robert Russell and Joseph Elliott in 1846 for $1494. Destroyed by floodwaters, Elias McMellen rebuilt the bridge in 1884 for $4295. It is jointly owned by Lancaster and Chester Counties and is located on Ashville Road just south of the Octoraro Lake Reservoir in Little Britain Township. Officials from both counties are presently discussing needed repairs to the bridge, but it remains open.
Length of largest span: 88.9 ft.
Total length: 198.2 ft.
Deck width: 12.8 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 12.5 ft.
Of the 1,500 covered bridges that once stood in the state of Pennsylvania, as of 2019, approximately 200 remain.
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on December 11, 1980.
Located at: N39 47.617 W76 02.684 - WGCB #38-15-22 / #38-36-41
Photographed in August of 2015.