Forry's Mill Covered Bridge - West Hempfield Township, PA
N 40° 03.990 W 076° 28.690
18T E 373944 N 4436184
As is typical of all Lancaster County bridges, this one too features a conventional double Burr arch trusses design with and the not often seen addition of steel hanger rods.
Waymark Code: WMHRYK
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/10/2013
Views: 3
Elias McMellen was one busy bridge builder during the late 19th century. Many of the briges nearby to this one were built by him. McMellen built this covered bridge in 1869 for $2969, the year the first transcontinental railroad was completed. In 1925 minor repairs were made to the flooring and sides by the county. The bridge was fairly easy to get to thanks to Rt, 23 which is 1/2 mile north from Bridge Valley Road in West Hempfield Township. The bridge location also comes up as Mt. Joy on Yahoo maps. Siegrist Mill Covered Bridge is less than a mile away and is very similar to this bridge.
Some boards are missing from the southern end's portal at the top. Signs on both end warn of anything exceeding 5 tons will go through the floor and down to Chiques Creek below (Chiques Creek was known as Chickies Creek until 2002). The bridge is painted Lancaster Red with white portals, all typical of the Lancaster bridges. The bridge is county-owned and maintained and its official designation is the Big Chickies #7 Bridge. In 1980, the bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Dimensions
- Length: 91 feet 6 inches (27.9 m) span and 103 feet (31.4 m) total length
- Width: 12 feet 10 inches (3.9 m) clear deck and 15 feet (4.6 m) total width
- Overhead clearance: 11 feet 6 inches (3.5 m)
- Underclearance: 12 feet (3.7 m)
I also took a video to provide a walking tour of the bridge which can be found HERE