• The Daniel Boone Homestead

    Here is a look around the property of the Daniel Boone Homestead. I visited this property as a child, and it has changed a lot. I will be back in warmer weather for another view of the main buildings. In the meantime, autumn was on full display when I visited the extensive grounds.

    In 1730, Squire Boone, Daniel Boone’s father, built a log cabin in the Oley Valley in what is now Berks County. Daniel Boone was born in the one and a half story log house. One wall was built of native stone. The basement of the house served as a spring house.

    Squire Boone expanded his property in 1741 when he purchased 25 acres (100,000 m2) of land for use as a pasture for his dairy cattle. Squire Boone was a blacksmith and weaver. The responsibility for tending the cattle was given to Daniel. During the summer months he stayed in a rustic cabin at the edge of the pasture. From there he was able to protect the cattle from predators such as the black bear, bobcat, and mountain lions.

    The Wayside Lodge is also part of this property.

  • Eastern Lycoming County and Muncy Valley

    I made my way into Lycoming County back in September. Before we head there, here are some remaining shots of Sullivan County, featuring the town of Muncy Valley. This particular house, on a sharp turn on Route 42, is always decked out with lots of flowers, in season.

    The view from the firehouse across the road.

    I travelled into Lycoming County on this trip because I specifically wanted to see Rose Valley Lake, which is known as a birding area. The lake is a reservoir that covers 389 acres (1.57 km2) in Gamble Township. The three-hundred-and-sixty-acre artificial lake is owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and was given its name, “Rose Valley Lake,” in May 1973 by the Pennsylvania Fish Commission, following approval by the commonwealth’s Geographic Names Committee. Created by the Pennsylvania Fish Commission, via the construction of a twenty-five-foot-high, four-hundred-and-ten-foot-long earthen dam on Mill Creek in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Rose Valley Lake is a three-hundred-and-sixty-acre artificial body of water. The most common game species of fish in the lake are largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie, muskellunge, yellow perch, chain pickerel, pumpkinseed and walleye.

    The area around the lake is quite scenic.
    A small church in Lycoming County.
    A valley farm.
    Another interesting old church.
    Mt. Zion Lutheran Church. A lot of ancestors and relatives are buried here.
    Eating lunch at the Lairdsville Cornerstone Restaurant.
    An interesting player piano.
    And an old stove.

    Finally, the Lairdsville Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge over Little Muncy Creek in Moreland Township, Lycoming County. It was built in 1888 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is also known as the Frazier Covered Bridge. The window with the exposed beams is a unique feature.

  • I Missed a Few

    On my way to Sullivan County, I took the opportunity to visit a few covered bridges that I had not visited before or failed to photograph for the blog. Outside of Allentown, I took a look at the Bogert Covered Bridge. This area was busy on a sunny Monday holiday, so I took a few photos and got the neck out of there. Bogert Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge is a 145-foot-long (44 m), Burr Truss bridge, that was constructed in 1841. It has vertical plank siding and a gable roof. It was restored by the Allentown Parks Department

    Moving on to Columbia County, the Sam Eckman Covered Bridge was the first of three that I know that I have seen before. The bridge is a wooden covered bridge located at Greenwood Township and Pine Township. It is a 65.1-foot-long (19.8 m), Warren Truss bridge constructed in 1876. It crosses Little Fishing Creek. It is one of the 28 historic covered bridges in Columbia and Montour Counties. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

    This distinctive farm is nearby.
    A barn I saw on my travels. It has some notable stars, which look like they are for sale.

    Next was the Jud Christian Covered Bridge, a wooden covered bridge located at Jackson Township and Pine Township. It is a 63-foot-long (19 m), Queen post truss bridge constructed in 1876. It crosses the Little Fishing Creek. It was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. I remember some interesting cattle near this bridge when I visited before, but, sadly, they were no here on this day.

    Little Fishing Creek.
    An adjacent farm with some really neat buildings.

    The diminutive Shoemaker Covered Bridge is another wooden covered bridge located at Pine Township. It was the lone new-to-me bridge in this bunch. is a 49-foot-long (15 m), Queen Post Truss bridge constructed in 1881. It crosses West Branch Run and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is all decked out for a picnic. It might be privately owned but is not posted.

    Finally, the Wagner Covered Bridge is one of the relocated covered bridges in Pennsylvania. It currently sits near the entrance to a housing development. The Wagner Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge that was originally built in Locust Township. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The bridge was dismantled on March 23, 1981, and the pieces stored at Knoebels Amusement Resort until it was rebuilt at its current location in Hemlock Township. When built in 1856, this historic structure was a 56.5-foot-long (17.2 m), Queen Post Truss bridge with a tarred metal roof. It originally crossed the North Branch of Roaring Creek. When I first saw it years ago, it was covered in graffiti. It is looking much better today.

  • Forksville and Hillsgrove

    The town of Forksville is not far from World’s End State Park. It features the Forksville Covered Bridge, a Burr arch truss covered bridge over Loyalsock Creek. It was built in 1850 and is 152 feet 11 inches (46.61 m) in length. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The Forksville bridge is obviously named for the borough it is in, which in turn is named for its location at the confluence or “forks” of the Little Loyalsock and Loyalsock Creeks. The Forksville bridge is a Burr arch truss type, with a load-bearing arch sandwiching multiple vertical king posts, for strength and rigidity. The building of the Forksville bridge was supervised by the 18-year-old Sadler Rogers, who used his hand-carved model of the structure. It served as the site of a stream gauge from 1908 to 1913 and is still an official Pennsylvania state highway bridge. The bridge was restored in 1970 and 2004 and is still in use.

    The post office and a look around the town.
    Eating lunch at the Forskville Inn and Tavern.
    Plenty of taxidermy to see here.

    Also in Sullivan County is the Hillsgrove Covered Bridge, a Burr arch truss covered bridge over Loyalsock Creek in Hillsgrove Township. It was built circa 1850 and is 186 feet (56.7 m) long. In 1973, it became the first covered bridge in the county to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge is named for the township and nearby village of Hillsgrove, and is also known as Rinkers Covered Bridge for an adjoining farm. It was built by Sadler Rodgers, who also constructed the nearby Forksville Covered Bridge in the same year, with a similar design. The bridge is the longest of three covered bridges remaining in Sullivan County, and served as a landing site for lumber rafts on the creek between 1870 and 1890. Restoration work was carried out in 1963, 1968, 2010, and again in 2012 after serious flood damage.

  • Somerset Starry Day

    Somerset County definitely has some different looking barn stars, This lacy looking white design seems to have been particularly popular.

    I like the contrast between the barn and the wind turbine.
    Here’s another different style.
    These sheep were just chilling in the July heat.
    Here are some of my other favorite views around the county,
  • About in the County

    This post is a sampling of some of the sites of Somerset County. The first stop is the Somerset Historical Center and Walters Mill Covered Bridge. The Center is a 150-acre rural history museum with exhibits, workshops, and educational programs dedicated to preserving the history of life in southwestern Pennsylvania from the region’s first farmers to the present day. It also serves as headquarters of the Historical & Genealogical Society of Somerset County. The Visitors Center houses permanent and changing exhibits as well as the Genealogical Research Library. I found it to be a good general source of information about the area, which was a life saver when my phone decided not to cooperate with me.

    The Walter’s Mill Covered bridge has been relocated to the property.

    The covered bridge was built in 1859 and originally crossed Coxes Creek, four miles south of the town of Somerset. Major repairs were made to the bridge in 1909, at which time laminated wood arches were added to the bridge’s original multiple kingpost truss system to accommodate heavier vehicles. Overtaken by developments and threatened with destruction, the bridge was moved to the Somerset Historical Center in the early 1960s. Extensively restored in 1986, the bridge remains open to pedestrian traffic.

    Nearby is the Quecreek Mine Rescue site. On July 24, 2002 coal miners at the Quecreek Mine in Lincoln Township, owned by Black Wolf Coal Company, accidentally dug into the abandoned, poorly documented Saxman Coal / Harrison #2 Mine, flooding the room and pillar mine with an estimated 75 million US gallons (280,000 cubic meters) of water. Both the Saxman Mine and Quecreek Mine are in the Upper Kittanning coal seam. Fortunately, all nine trapped miners were rescued using a metal capsule structure lowered into the mine through a drilled hole. The incident garnered national attention, especially in the wake of the September 11 disaster and the crash of Flight 93 nearby in Shanksville.

    The nearby Dormel Farm.

    Driving further north, one can visit the Trostletown Covered Bridge, a historic covered bridge in Quemahoning Township. It was built in 1845, and is a 104-foot-long (32 m) Kingpost truss bridge, with half-height plank siding and an asbestos shingled gable roof. The bridge crosses Stony Creek. It is one of 10 covered bridges in Somerset County. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

    The bridge is adjacent to an American Legion Post with an impressive display of hardware.
  • Bedford County Views

    The Bedford County area has some interesting rural scenes, such as this barn with an unusual star made from repurposed farm equipment.

    Two corn cribs for the price of one.
    Even more hay. I was surprised I saw so much this early in the season.
    This was a shock. There are bison behind that fence.
  • From Bedord to Somerset

    Travelling from Bedford to Somerset, one encounters a string of covered bridges. First up is the Herline Covered Bridge, which is a wooden covered bridge which is located in Bedford County. It crosses the Juniata River, and is one of fifteen historic covered bridges which are located in Bedford County. Built in 1902, this historic structure is a 136-foot-long (41 m), Burr Truss bridge with a medium pitched gable roof. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

    Turners Covered Bridge is found off Route 31 in Bedford County. It is an 89 foot Burr Truss bridge, with low side panels and open sides. Construction date is believed to be approximately 1892. It spans the Raystown branch of the Juniata River. This half height style seems to have been popular in the area, as you will see in this post. The bridge is County owned and rests on stone abutments, reinforced with concrete.

    I heard several killdeer calling from this field. They sounded like shorebirds, which makes sense since they are related to plovers.

    The Colvin Covered Bridge has recently been refurbished. It is a multiple king-post bridge rather than the familiar Burr arch truss, resting on concrete abutments. Built in 1894, it crosses Shawnee Creek. The bridge is county owned and is 66 feet long. It was built in 1880.

    Our trip now takes us into Somerset County. The New Baltimore Bridge is a covered bridge which crosses the Raystown Branch of the Juniata Rive. The Queen Post truss bridge was built in 1879 and is 86 feet 6 inches (26.37 m) in length and 12 feet (3.7 m) wide. It is one of 10 covered bridges in Somerset County.

    I found these markers at covered bridges in Somerset County.

    The Glessner Covered Bridge is a covered bridge in Somerset County near Shanksville. It was built in 1881, and is a 90-foot-long (27 m), multiple Kingpost truss bridge, with half-height plank siding and a tin covered gable roof. The bridge crosses Stonycreek River and is an interesting side trip if you are visiting the Flight 93 National Memorial. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980

  • It’s a Breeze

    Get ready – the upcoming posts contains a lot of covered bridges. We will also continue the two-per-week schedule of new posts.

    I used the extended July Fourth holiday to take another trip to the Laurel Highlands. The trip started with an exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Breezewood to see some covered bridges. The first stop of the trip was Jacksons Mill Covered Bridge, a wooden covered bridge located in Bedford County. It crosses Brush Creek and is a 91-foot-long (28 m), Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1889. It is one of 15 historic covered bridges in Bedford County. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

    There is also a very nice old mill building at this site.

    Nearby is Feltons Mill Covered Bridge, which is another wooden covered bridge located in Bedford County. It is a 105-foot-long (32 m), Burr Truss bridge with a medium pitched gable roof, constructed in 1892. It also crosses Brush Creek. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

    I was not able to get a good photo of this bridge, as the entrance appears to be on private property. The access road had a rope across it and appears to terminate a short distance from the main road. The bridge might be viewable from the nearby main road bridge when the trees are not leafed out, However, this random haybale was sitting nearby, and you know I can’t resist a good haybale.

    My drive around the Breezewood area also produced some other interesting sights, such as this interesting looking Church, with a very minimalist style.

    More haybales of course.
    This old silo looked like a castle tower, if you squint.
  • A Nockamixon Summer

    The Sheards Mill Covered Bridge is very close to Lake Nockamixon and its State Park. The trip to see the bridge allowed to make another visit to the park and the surrounding area.

    A very patriotic tractor.
    This door …
    … belongs to this barn.
    The Weisel Farm House and Barn at the High Bridge trailhead of Nockamixon State Park.
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