Jefferis Bridge

Jefferis Ford was named after the Jefferis family who owned the farm to the west of the creek in the 18th century. The ford would become famous on September 11, 1777 as 8,000 British soldiers under the command of Sir William Howe and Lord Cornwallis proceeded across the Brandywine Creek on their flanking march towards the Continental Army's position near Chadds Ford several miles downstream. In 1862 a covered bridge would be built at the location of the ford. Jefferis Bridge was built by Joseph Elliot of Unionville. The structure had a 104 foot span with a roadway width of 16 feet. The public road crossed the covered bridge until 1953 when arsonists burned the wooden structure, which was the second oldest covered bridge left in Chester County at the time. Soon after the bridge was burned a 100 foot iron truss bridge was relocated to the site from an abandoned road in West Marlborough Township over the Doe Run. The iron bridge was originally built to service the mill town of Palmer which was north of the village of Doe Run. Proceed west and follow Allerton Road.