A covered bridge is like a tunnel to the past. When you drive across, you’re suddenly surrounded by the intricate woodwork, and the floorboards rattle beneath your tires. For a moment, you’re transported back to the days of horses and wagons.
At one point, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, was home to thirty-five covered bridges. Today, only three remain: the Forksville Covered Bridge, the Hillsgrove Covered Bridge, and the Sonestown Covered Bridge. They were all constructed around 1850 by Sadler Rogers, a prominent builder, farmer, and logger. At just eighteen years old, he carved the prototype for a covered bridge. As he grew older, he created homes, churches, and other buildings throughout the county, several of which still stand today. According to an announcement of his death in The Sullivan Review on February 27, 1913, “He’d been known to say that he built houses to make a living, but bridges were his passion.”
The three bridges use a Burr arch truss system, which combines a classic kingpost truss with thick, reinforced wooden arches that stretch across the length of the entire bridge. The arches allowed the bridges to span longer distances and provided more strength and stability. At the Sullivan County Historical Society’s Museum, visitors can see a scale model of a Burr truss bridge created by Frank Cox of Laporte. The model removes the outer wall and shows the inner structure.
The folklore around covered bridges adds to their intrigue. Some myths claim that they’re a haunt for ghosts (one of Hillsgrove’s former bridges was named the Bridge of Spooks). Other people find them romantic; they’re sometimes called “kissing bridges” because they provided privacy to steal a kiss from your sweetheart. However, their real purpose was much more practical. The roof and walls protected the wooden trusses from the weather and helped them last much longer than an uncovered bridge.
Today, all three bridges are still in use, and they are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Even though they’ve endured countless storms (and just as many repairs), they maintain the same rustic charm and rich history that has captivated visitors for 175 years.
Forksville Covered Bridge
Location: Bridge Street, Forksville
Located off of Route 154, the Forksville Covered Bridge is a familiar sight for visitors heading to Worlds End State Park and the Sullivan County Fairgrounds. It crosses the Loyalsock Creek, where the rolling mountains and quiet village create a scene worthy of a postcard. In fact, it was featured on the cover of America’s Covered Bridges by Terry E. Miller and Ronald G. Knapp.
A year after completing the bridge, Sadler Rogers built the Forksville General Store. Nowadays, the store serves as Big Mike’s Steaks & Hoagies, where guests can enjoy a creekside picnic with excellent views of the bridge.
Hillsgrove Covered Bridge
Location: Covered Bridge Road, Hillsgrove
The Hillsgrove Covered Bridge lies about five miles downstream from its cousin in Forksville. It is the longest of Sullivan County’s three covered bridges and was also the first to be added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
You can reach the bridge by taking a short detour off of Route 87 and following the peaceful backroads. It sits on a sharp turn, which can make for a pleasant surprise for drivers. On the eastern end (closest to Splash Dam Road), look for the sign at the top, which lists the bridge’s regulations from the 1800s.
Sonestown Covered Bridge
Location: Champion Hill Road, Muncy Valley
The Sonestown Covered Bridge (also called the Davidson Covered Bridge) crosses Muncy Creek just off of Route 220. It’s the shortest of the three bridges, but it’s perhaps the most resilient, surviving extensive storm damage throughout its history.
The Sonestown Bridge originally provided access to a gristmill. Long before PennDOT, it was common for private landowners (or in this case, the mill owner) to pay to build a covered bridge. The roof not only preserved the structure, but it also served as a holding place for customers. If the mill was busy, a wagon could wait in the covered bridge, and the roof would protect their product (such as wheat or corn) from rain, snow, or sun.
View the Bridges
You can easily visit all three bridges within a leisurely drive. The Hillsgrove and Forksville bridges are about five miles apart. The Forksville and Sonestown bridges are roughly fifteen miles apart. Along the way, you’ll enjoy a scenic ride through the country and our historic small towns. Please remember to respect private property when viewing the bridges.
Thank you to the Sullivan County Historical Society for assisting with the research and providing the historic photos for this story. If you’d like to discover more about the bridges and local history, their museum in Laporte is an excellent resource. Call 570-946-5020 for hours or to make an appointment. You can also find them online at www.scpahistory.com.