The 1881 Speakman No. 1 Covered Bridge is a historic wooden covered bridge located in East Fallowfield Township near Modena in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Speakman No. 1 Bridge is a 75-foot-long, 14 feet wide, Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1881 at a cost of only $2000. It is a twin of Speakman No. 2, Mary Ann Pyle Bridge, located a 1/4 mile away. It crosses Buck Run.  The bridge is in good condition and open to vehicle traffic. Speakman No. 1 is owned and maintained by the State of Pennsylvania.

In 1959, the bridge was almost destroyed after it was set on fire.  Thankfully, the Modena Fire Department and the Doe Run Valley Farms Patrol were quickly called to action and were able to save the bridge from serious damage.  Chester County, where both Speakman Bridge #1 and #2 reside used to be home to 85 covered bridges, but only 15 of those still remain today.

In November 2011, the bridge experienced massive structural damage after a tractor-trailer hauling steel plates crossed over it.  The bridge was closed for almost 5 years because construction could not begin until a legal battle over property ownership was resolved.  PennDOT purchased the land the bridge sits on and began work on the project. 

Length of largest span: 75 ft.
Total length: 93 ft.
Deck width: 14.4 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 10, 1980.

Located at:  N39 55.762    W75 49.353    -    WGCB #38-15-05

Photographed in May of 2016.