Sawhill - 1915
The 1915 Sawhill Covered Bridge was built by an unknown builder utilizing the Queenpost design. The 56-foot-long Sawhill Bridge crosses Buffalo Creek in Washington County, Pennsylvania. The structure is owned and maintained by the county and is open to vehicular traffic. This bridge is one of the few Washington County Covered Bridges not hidden away in a remote area. With vertical plank siding that is painted barn red inside and out, it presents three rectangular windows on each side. The deck has crosswise planking and tin covered gable roof. The Queenpost truss structure rests on concrete abutments and one made of stone and mortar extended to form attractive curved wing walls on the Route 221 end of the bridge. The deck requires no additional reinforcement.
The Sawhill is the second of only two covered bridges built in Washington County during World War I, partially as a result of the shortage of steel during the war years. The Sawhill was recently reconstructed from its foundation up, as the remnants of 2004's Hurricane Ivan had heavily damaged the bridge, causing it to lean and making it impassable.
Length of largest span: 48.9 ft.
Total length: 56.1 ft.
Deck width: 10.8 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 9.3 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 June 22, 1979
Located at: N40 10.81 W80 24.97 - WGCB #38-63-34
Photographed in June of 2016.