Thomas Bridge - Indiana, PA - Covered Bridges on Waymarking.com

Information board:

Town Lattice Truss
The Thomas Bridge is constructed with Town lattice trusses. The Town truss is named after Ithiel Town of New Haven, CT who patented the truss design in 1820.

The majority of covered bridges in Indiana County utilized a Town lattice truss system.

The design was adapted very quickly because of its use of smaller dimensional lumber, ease of construction, and its ability to cross spans up to 200 feet in length.

Ithiel Town is largely remembered as a designer of Greek Revival public buildings, especially County courthouses. Although he only built a few bridges himself, Town actively promoted his design, often while meeting with County Commissioners. He received royalties of a dollar a foot from bridge builders who used the Town truss. Covered bridge builders who used his design but failed to receive patent approval prior to construction, were charged two dollars a foot.
There are twenty Town lattice truss bridges remaining in Pennsylvania, three of them are in Indiana County. These include the Harmon, Trusal, and Thomas Covered Bridges.

Plaque:

Thomas Bridge
Reconstructed 1998
Indiana County Commissioners
Bernie Smith, Randy Degenkolb, James McQuown
Engineer: Gibson-Thomas Engineering Co., Inc.
Contractor: Speria Construction Inc.

Current Condition of Bridge: excellent Web Address: [Web Link] Description of Covered Bridge: This is the longest of the Indiana County Covered bridges, at 75 feet. The bridge crosses Crooked Creek near Yarnick's Farm Market. It has also been known as Thomas Ford Bridge and Thomas Station Bridge. The outside is red panels, the inside Town Lattice with plank flooring. Year Built: 1879, rebuilt 1998 Location (Road - City - State - Country): 280 Thomas Covered Bridge Road, Indiana, PA 15701 Parking (If not at the bridge):: Not listed

Visit Instructions:

To log a Visit, please make every effort to supply an image of yourself at the site. The standard GPS photo may be used as well, or even just an image that you took when you visited the location. If you do not have the option to provide an image, please provide a detailed description of your visit so we can form a 'mental image'

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/04/2022 ted28285 visited it