Meadowcroft unveils renovated covered bridge
Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, which recently kicked off its 2017 season, unveiled the newly rehabilitated Pine Bank Covered Bridge at a dedication ceremony May 3.
About two dozen people, including local and civic leaders, attended the event at the historic site near Avella.
The 35-foot-long covered bridge, which was built in 1871, originally spanned a waterway in Tom’s Run, Greene County, before Meadowcroft Village owner Albert Miller moved the structure to its present site.
The bridge had suffered structural deficiencies and decay, said David Scofield, director of Meadowcroft.
“Because it’s been here over half a century, it had some decay and other issues that needed corrected,” said Scofield.
The work addressed those structural deficiencies, corrected drainage issues (the bridge was raised three feet), and restored the appearance of the oak bridge to be more consistent with its original construction.
When Pine Bank Covered Bridge was built, it was one of about 10,000 covered bridges in the United States. Today, only 672 covered bridges remain, and only 20 of those, including Pine Bank, use the kingpost truss system.
“When Albert Miller disassembled this in 1962 from 70 miles away and moved it here to be a part of this museum, his goal was to recreate a place where people could enjoy learning about their heritage and Pennsylvania history, so we’re proud to continue that mission today,” said Scofield. “We’re pleased to preserve this for future generations.”
The restoration was made possible with three grants: a $75,000 Keystone Historic Preservation grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; a $150,000 Local Share grant; and a $75,000 grant from Washington County Tourism.
Meadowcroft enlisted Fitzgerald’s Heavy Timber Construction of Thurmond, Md., to conduct preliminary design work and to complete the bridge restoration.
Owner Dean Fitzgerald said the company disassembled the entire structure, laid out each component in an adjacent field, selected which pieces could be used, and then reassembled the bridge.
Planning for the restoration began about four years ago, and actual bridge reconstruction took place from May to September 2016.
Meadowcroft opens for its 49th season this weekend. It is one of the oldest known sites of human habitation in North America and has become an international destination for out-of-state tourists, scholars, archaeologists and adventurers.
Meadowcroft features the Rockshelter, a massive rock overhang used by the region’s earliest inhabitants for shelter more than 16,000 years ago.
Meadowcroft is a National Historic Landmark and part of the Sen. John Heinz History Center museum system.