The 1873 Schofield Ford Covered Bridge, also called Twining Ford Bridge, was originally built in 1873 and then rebuilt in 1997 after a 1991 fire.  The bridge was constructed with native hemlock and oak using the town truss bridge design. 

Located over the Neshaminy Creek in Tyler State Park, Schofield Ford Bridge is the longest in Bucks County at 170 feet long, 13 feet high, and 16 feet wide. Schofield Ford is only accessible by foot, bike, or horseback.

Between 1869 and 1871, the citizens of Newtown and Northampton townships petitioned the Bucks County commissioners to build a bridge connecting their two communities. They wanted relief from the burden of braving ice floes and rising waters at the shallows, or ford, near the present site of the Schofield Ford Covered Bridge. By 1873, the bridge was completed, and for the next 118 years, it played an important - and changing - role in the social and economic life of Bucks County.

On October 7th, 1991, a fire destroyed the beloved bridge. Within half an hour, the old wooden planks that had borne the weight of merchants, neighbors, lovers, and strangers for more than a century collapsed into the creek. Black smoke rose from the bridge's ashes, signaling a grievous loss throughout the region.

The next six years saw a remarkable outpouring of volunteer spirit and tenacity. Neighbors and friends of Tyler State Park and the Schofield Ford Bridge researched the history of the bridge and rallied support. Together, they raised a timber frame barn to practice for the construction of the bridge, and then they rebuilt the bridge itself - true to its original standards.

This covered bridge was known as Schofield Ford Covered Bridge, or in one source, Twinning Covered Bridge. The bridge was reconstructed on the old abutments and piers entirely of native Pennsylvania Hemlock and White Oak. This is the only bridge in Pennsylvania that has a queen post truss system supporting a Town Truss system. The queen post is attached everywhere it makes contact with a diagonal of the Town Truss with an oak trunnel (treenail, or peg).  During the rebuilding process, the original specifications were followed exactly, with the exception of adding two windows in the middle of the bridge. The bridge was also kept unpainted, which is both historically accurate and unique among Bucks County’s covered bridges.

In addition to being historic, this bridge is also quite beautiful. Set back in a wooded area of Tyler State Park, it requires about five minutes of walking to reach this bridge from the nearest parking lot.

This 1873 bridge was once privately owned and part of the 2,000-acre Tyler Estate known as “Indian Council Rock”. The Schofield Ford Covered Bridge is within the 1,688 acres that became Tyler State Park in 1974. Closed to traffic, it is still used as part of a bridle path.

Located at:  N40 14.661    W74 58.849     -    WGCB #38-09-13 #2

Photographed in July of 2011.