Bridge Over the River Quiet #13309
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The Story
On a sunny winter day, I came across the Osterburg-Bowser covered bridge in the farming countryside outside the town of Osterburg in scenic Bedford County, PA. With great sunshine and white all around to work with, I walked back and forth along both ends and through the bridge looking for good angles to photograph. In the country quiet only broken by the occasional car or farmer’s truck, I gave it a good study and came away with this image. Thankfully, it wasn’t as cold there that day as the picture surely looks.
Though today it’s out of service, it was built in 1890 to get horses and wagons across ninety feet over Bob’s Creek. It was no doubt built to last by some good carpenters, but the new metal roof is a good bit of insurance. The modern replacement bridge beside it is from the seventies. You can see the metal railings on the far right if you look closely. There was a fair amount of traffic going over the new bridge the day I was there, meaning people often go this way and always have.
The Osterburg-Bowser covered bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is one of fifteen covered bridges in mostly rural and very scenic Bedford County. The county has the most covered bridges of any Pennsylvania county and Pennsylvania has the most remaining covered bridges of any other state. The Bedford County Visitor’s Bureau has created a driving tour of most of their bridges here along with an optional cycling tour as well.
Follow the link to have a look at the nearby Halls Mill Covered Bridge #14846, built in a similar style and also in Bedford County.
Location: near Osterburg in rural Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Picture and story © Andrew Dierks