Quintessential Pennsylvania

CONNOQUENESSING - Founded 1792, from a Native American term for "a long way straight". Formerly named Petersville, after founding settler Peter McKinney, the village was renamed Connoquenessing in 1871. The village incorporated as a borough in 1898 and found prosperity from the oil booms of the late 19th Century. At one time, there were over producing 70 oil wells in Connoquenessing. How to Get There: Sources and Links: Connoquenessing Borough - About Connoquenessing Borough

INDUSTRY - Founded 1836. Named for early coal and lumber industries. The borough was carved out of parts of Brighton and Ohio Townships in Beaver County. How to Get There: Sources and Links: Google Books -  History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania: and its centennial celebration, Volume 2 -  Bausman, Joseph Henderson; Duss, John Samuel (1904)

  PAXINOS - Founded 1769. Named for Swanee (Shawnee?) Indian chief. How to Get There:

  Also known as the Millmont Red Bridge, the Glen Iron Bridge or the Red Covered Bridge, the Millmont Covered Bridge is Union County, Pennsylvania's longest covered bridge. Spanning 159 feet across Penns Creek in the small community of Millmont in Hartley Township, the Millmont Covered Bridge was originally built in 1855 and designed with the style of a covered Burr arch-truss. Once the location of an important local crossing over Penns Creek, the bridge was bypassed by a modern bridge capable of handling heavier traffic in 1976. It now serves pedestrian and bicycle traffic, as it closed to motor vehicles in 1998. The Millmont Covered Bridge has seen a few restorations over its history. There was a restoration of the bridge that took place in 1958. Another restoration took place in 2010. As the bridge was posted to the National Register of Historic Places on February 8, 1980, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission required the work to maintain the histor...

  SWEDEN VALLEY - Founded 1807. Named by early settlers from Sweden. The Coudersport Ice Mine is located in the vicinity of Sweden Valley. How to Get There:

  EXCHANGE - Founded 1840. Named for horse exchange on old mail route in coaching days. How to Get There:

One of the shortest covered bridges in Lancaster County is the Bucher's Mill Covered Bridge, or the Cocalico # 2 Covered Bridge. Spanning 54 feet across the Cocalico Creek in Stevens, Pennsylvania (near Reamstown), the Burr arch truss designed covered bridge was built in 1891. The bridge is painted red, the traditional color of covered bridges in Lancaster County, plus features some white trim at the bridge portal. Located in the heart of the Amish country, the Bucher's Mill Covered Bridge was built by Elias McMellen at a cost of $1,167. Then in 1892, the covered bridge was damaged heavily in a flood and was rebuilt by McMellen for $1,025. In 1980, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and the covered bridge was restored in 1997. Today, the Bucher's Mill Covered Bridge is located just off of PA 272 and is a great stop while cruising the byways of Lancaster County. Cocalico Creek. 4 ton weight limit on the bridge. Inside the covered bridge. Some markings o...

  EAGLES MERE - Founded 1804. Originally Lewis Lake, renamed from "Lake of the Eagles". Long an destination for Philadelphians looking to escape the summer heat, Eagles Mere is a summer resort town, swelling to about 3,000 seasonal residents from about 120 year round residents. How to Get There: Sources and Links: Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania - Home Eagles Mere Historic Villages - History

  One of fourteen covered bridges dotting the landscape of Bedford County, the Hall's Mill Covered Bridge crosses the Yellow Creek and is located just south of PA 26, a few miles north of Everett and a few miles west of Hopewell. Built in 1884 and rehabilitated in 1994, the 99 foot long Burr arch truss designed covered bridge is the seventh bridge built at this location. Surrounded by farmlands, the open walls of the sides of the covered bridge are perfect for admiring the nearby countryside and the quiet creek below. After a number of tries to get a bridge built at this location, they finally got it right and the Hall's Mill Covered Bridge is standing the test of time. How to Get There: Sources and Links: Bridgehunter.com -  Hall's Mill Covered Bridge 38-05-15 Dierks Photo -  Halls Mill Covered Bridge #14846 Bedford County Visitors Bureau - Covered Bridges of Bedford County Uncovering PA -  Visiting the Historic Covered Bridges of Bedford County, Pennsylvania Update...

  MILLVILLE - Founded 1772. Named for grist mill erected on site of town. John Eves, an Ireland native living in Mill Creek Hundred, Delaware, is thought to have been one of the first white men to visit the Greenwood Valley and Little Fishing Creek area in 1770. Although he returned to Delaware after this initial visit, he returned the following year with his son Thomas and built a log cabin on the property. The Eves family arrived in 1772 and began tilling the fields adjacent to the cabin as soon as they could be cleared. Thomas Eves succeeded his father in ownership of the grist mill and built the first house in what is now Millville Boro. How to Get There: Sources and Links: Millville Borough - History

  MCALISTERVILLE - Founded 1810. Named for Hugh McAlister. McAlisterville was also home to the McAlisterville Academy, which first opened in 1855 and was run by George McFarland, who later served with the 151st Pennsylvania Regiment for the Union Army at the Battle of Gettysburg. After the Civil War, the McAlisterville Academy was also home to a soldiers' orphans school.  How to Get There: Sources and Links: RootsWeb - McAlisterville Academy

  Also known as Pequea Bridge #10, the Baumgardner Mill Covered Bridge spans over Lancaster County, Pennsylvania's Pequea Creek on Covered Bridge Road near the town of Marticville. Built in 1860, the 105 foot long covered Burr truss arch designed covered bridge was constructed by Davis Kitch at a cost of $1,284. In 1987, the bridge was restored after it was damaged in a flood from the previous year. During the restoration, which cost $200,000, the covered bridge was raised four feet and lengthened by nine feet to protect it from damage in future floods. As with many covered bridges in Lancaster County, the covered bridge is painted red, but has some white trim. As one might expect, the Baumgardner Mill Covered Bridge is located near a historic mill. The history of the mill is one that is longer than the United States itself. There was a mill that was first built at the location in 1775, then a larger mill was built in its place in 1806. Ownership of the mill changed hands countless...

  FREEBURG - Founded 1796. Originally called Straubstown for founder, Andrew Straub. How to Get There:

  BIGLERVILLE - Founded 1817. Named for Governor William Bigler. Home of the National Apple Museum , Biglerville was renamed from Middletown in 1903, as there was another borough named Middletown located in Pennsylvania. How to Get There: Sources and Links: The Borough of Biglerville - History

BENDERSVILLE - Founded 1832. Named for Henry Bender, pioneer. Bendersville is located in Adams County, just north of the borough of Biglersville. How to Get There:

The 86 foot long Ryot Covered Bridge gets its name from the nearby town of Ryot, located in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Spanning over the Dunning Creek, the bridge is designed in the Burr arch-truss style. The original construction of the bridge was approved by grand jury on April 23, 1867, crossing at the Jacob Beckley Fording of the Dunning Creek. The surveyor for the bridge was Samuel Ketterman and the viewers of the bridge's construction were Hirman Davis and William Kirk. With that, the Ryot Covered Bridge first opened to traffic in 1869. A major restoration of the Ryot Covered Bridge took place in 1995. Unfortunately, just seven years later, in 2002, the bridge was burned down by teenaged arsonists. The Bedford County Commissioners quickly committed to the restoration of the bridge and to an accelerated schedule for its reconstruction. P. Joseph Lehman, Inc., Consulting Engineers was chosen to undertake the bridge's rehabilitation and reconstruction. Due to the restora...

SUMMERVILLE - Founded 1812. Named for founder Summers Baldwin. Located in Jefferson County, the original name for Summerville was Troy, which is also the name of a community in northern Pennsylvania. How to Get There: Sources and Links: Summerville Public Library - Summerville Story Project

Just a stone's throw away from US 15 and PA 284 in the hills of Buttonwood is the Buttonwood Covered Bridge. Built in 1898 and restored in 1998, this 74 foot long covered multiple Kingpost through truss designed covered bridge is just one of a handful of covered bridges found throughout Lycoming County. Due to its historic nature, the Buttonwood Covered Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1980. Local legend states that this covered bridge had once washed downstream on the Blockhouse Creek during a major flood, and that after the water receded, the bridge was hauled back to its original site by horses. The Buttonwood Covered Bridge is in a rural area, surrounded by farms, serene hillsides and a sawmill. But due to its proximity to US 15, it's an easy detour off of the exit for PA 284 to see the bridge, by heading north from the exit and going onto Covered Bridge Road. Approaching the Buttonwood Covered Bridge. Inside the covered bridge. An o...

  GOODVILLE - Founded 1815. Named for Peter Good, early landowner and settler. An insurance company based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania by the name of the Goodville Mutual Casualty Company, takes its name from Goodville. How to Get There: Sources and Links: Goodville Mutual Casualty Company - Company History

  The 110 foot long Josiah Hess Covered Bridge is located on Huntington Creek in Fishing Creek Township. One of 23 historic covered bridges in Columbia County, the covered Burr arch-truss designed Josiah Hess Covered Bridge was constructed in 1875 by Joseph Redline and W.J. Manning at a cost of $1,349.50. Today, the bridge is only open to pedestrian access, providing a nice place to get photos, have a picnic or to go fly fishing. The covered bridge provided access to the Hess sawmill and farm. The bridge's namesake, Josiah Hess, was part of the 4th generation of Hess family members who called Pennsylvania home. Johann Conrad Hess, just 16 years old, climbed aboard the ship Glasgow in 1730 and set out on his journey to the New World and Philadelphia. It wasn't long after that when the Hess family migrated elsewhere in Pennsylvania, establishing farms and businesses in Columbia County. Now owned by the Columbia County Covered Bridge Association, it has been restored, and rededica...